Mechanical Reproduction: The Photograph and the Child inThe Crisisand theBrownies’ Book

Abstract

This article considers the photographic portraits of children reprinted inThe Crisis’s “Children's Numbers” and theBrownies’ Book. While the magazines use these images to further their uplift agenda, they also present a sophisticated commentary on the photographic form. The publications present an understanding of the camera as an instrument for interpreting and shaping reality rather than as a truth-telling device. By suggesting parallels between the photographic image and the idea of the child, and exposing the conventions and distortions that produce both, the magazines challenge claims of authenticity and transparency which had helped to naturalize the oppression of black people.