White and Black: Norman Rockwell, Childhood Innocence & the Reality of the U.S. South in the Civil Rights Era

Abstract

G.L. Lebon of New Orleans vehemently expressed his opinions to a national publication in a letter dated January 6 th , 1964, in care of Look magazine. He wrote, “THERE CAN BE, AND THERE WILL BE NO COMPROMISE WITH THE VICIOUS CRIME OF RACE MIXING AND INTEGRATION. THE WAR HAS JUST BEGUN!” Lebon’s letter was addressed to Norman Rockwell, the popular American illustrator. 1 It was a Rockwell painting, published as a centerfold in Look magazine that elicited such a fervent response. Unlike Rockwell’s customary illustration of the American ideal, the painting in question had political undertones, which was radically different from Rockwell’s usual work. 2 This paper will therefore provide a study of Rockwell’s painting in its historical and social context, which permitted and ultimately elicited such an impassioned response towards an iconographic painter. Through a close examination of Rockwell’s 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With, this paper argues that by suggesting an alternative, controversial reality, Rockwell complicated his customary illustration of the ideal. Instead of depicting the ideal, the illustration uncovers the reality of Black childhood in the Southern United States during the 1950s and 60s. Rockwell’s painting intended to shock the middle class, who had come to trust and accept his views as truth, into reconsidering segregation. Rockwell’s message becomes clear by studying his depiction of the young girl and the US Marshalls within the painting, as well as the elements of illustration employed. By placing the audience in the position of the mob or spectator contributing to or witnessing the racist and evil acts, Rockwell suggests that the White middleclass viewer, as a participant, is a part of the problem. He hoped his painting would force his audience to recognize the plight of the African American child and take action to save their