PHOTOGRAPHS THAT
DEPICT FAMOUS MOMENTS
G'day folks,
THE STORY BEHIND
THE ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH
G'day folks,
The photograph of Elizabeth making her way to school while a white mob is trailing behind her and hurling insults has become an iconic image for the civil rights movement.
The story of Eckford and the girl behind her, Hazel
Bryan whose face is contorted mid-shout is no less than fascinating. In 1957,
Eckford was one of the first nine African-American students to enroll in the
all-white central high school of Little Rock, Arkansas - a group that would
later be known as the Little Rock Nine. It did not go smoothly, as the infamous
photo reveals. There was a whole mob trying to prevent Elizabeth from entering
the school, but Hazel was the one caught most vividly on camera.
Benjamin Fine of The New York Times later described her, she was “screaming, just hysterical, just like one of these Elvis Presley hysterical deals, where these kids are fainting with hysteria”. After the photo made headlines, Hazel’s parents decided to pull her out of Central and send her to a different school. Over the years, as she learned more about African-American history, Hazel started feeling remorseful and ashamed at the way she behaved that day.
In 1963 she tracked down Elizabeth and called her to apologize. Elizabeth briefly accepted the apology, and the two did not speak again for years. The year 1997 marked the 40-year anniversary of the Little Rock Central High School integration. Then-president Bill Clinton, who is also an Arkansas native, held a big ceremony noting the event. Will Counts, the photographer responsible for the famous photo, asked Eckford and Bryan if they would be willing to pose again for a second photograph and they both agreed.
Reconciled after 40 years, the two women discovered they had much in common and struck an unlikely friendship. They started attending events and touring schools together, giving talks about race and tolerance. They both received much criticism for their relationship - Elizabeth for being too naive and forgiving, and Hazel for not being sincere.
Clancy's comment: An interesting relationship during turbulant times.
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THE STORY BEHIND
THE PHOTOGRAPH
It was captured by the famed photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, on
August 14, 1945 - the day when Japan’s surrender to the Allies was announced,
and World War II officially ended. The snap of a sailor kissing a white-clad
woman amid the celebrating crowds in Times Square became the symbol of the
ecstatic excitement people felt when the war ended. The photographer didn’t
manage to ask the subjects for their names as everything happened so fast and
the scene was incredibly lively. “There were thousands of people milling
around… everybody was kissing each other”, Eisenstaedt explained.
Over the years, several men and women came forward, claiming they are the ones
depicted in the now-iconic image. A 2012 book identified them as George
Mendonsa, a sailor on leave at the time, and Greta Friedman, a dental assistant
wearing a nurse's uniform. The truth is Mendonsa and Friedman were actually
perfect strangers! The sailor, who was overjoyed with the news, expressed his
excitement through a completely spontaneous kiss; “You come back from the
Pacific and finally, the war ends. The excitement of the war being over, plus I
had a few drinks. So when I saw the nurse, I grabbed her and I kissed her” he
told CBS news.
Not only that, but he was also on a date with another woman at the time,
Rita Petrie, who can be seen in the background of the photo. But she didn’t
seem to mind. In fact, she later became Mendonsa’s wife for 7 whole decades.
Both subjects of the 20th century’s most defining photograph recently passed
away - Friedman in 2016, and Mendonsa in 2019.
Clancy's comment: An iconic photograph with a great story.
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