Introduction

SENTENCE OR TWO ABOUT THIS SITE BEING A DIGITAL COMPLEMENT TO THE LIBRARY EXHIBITION 

The Mammy/nanny photographs in this exhibition, dating from 1840 to 1920, offer early and consistent visual documentation of African American caregivers and white children.

Some of these nanny portraits are familiar and follow a specific formulas of poses; others are unlike any nanny portraits that I have ever seen after almost a decade of research. By looking at them closely, we can tease out new insights into what is, perhaps, the most complex inter-racial relationship in American life.

These photographs, along with written narratives and visual materials from Rose Library's book and manuscript collections, supply critical counter-narratives to the well-known "mammy" stereotype, counter-narratives that emphasize the undeniable humanity of each individual. It is impossible to look at these portraits today without wondering what went on in the minds of the African Americans who were asked to sit perfectly still, while lighting and props were arranged for portraits not made for them, but for the white children they held.

Each image--in the setting, the poses, the facial expressions and the clothing--captures a microcosm of power dynamics involving race, gender, class, status, age, and domestic labor relations.

With these portraits, the more you look, the more you see.