| Description | Photograph album. Depicting Boys' and Girls' Clubs at camp. Captioned with names.
Includes Brady Boys at an athletics event in the East End of London in 1938. Annotation on page one: "H. Goodman, H. B. Rosenfeld, M. Lux, J. Shaer, A Shaer, W. Pinkus".
Annotation on page two: "1938. We win the Novices Race for the 4th successive year".
Includes loose photographs in pocket at back.
Content warning: These photographs include young people in 'blackface' and one is wearing a costume with the letters 'KKK'. These images are derogatory, inappropriate, abusive, harmful, and offensive. This album represents the time and context in which material was created. The items are part of the archival record. We want to place these images into context:
Blackface began in the 19th century linked with minstrel musical theatre performance, as a form of racial impersonation founded on cultural appropriation. By 1930s it was commonly adopted in theatrical plays and helped disseminate racial terms and racial stereotypes into the 21st century. The photograph of young people in 'blackface' also shows young people dressed in other stereotypical national outfits. Attitudes in the 1930s towards race are considered ignorant and offensive by today's standards.
The KKK stands for the Ku Klux Klan, a racist group established by people who believed in white supremacy. They wanted black people to remain as enslaved people. The KKK began in the USA in 1860s and by the 1920s-1930s the movement was at its strongest with a distinctive costume. In this photograph, the use of white KKK lettering on a black costume (rather than the iconic KKK white outfit) may have been employed with ironic intention to subvert the traditional representation of KKK iconography. The Clubs' ethos was certainly respectful and inclusive. Chairman of the Brady Girls' Club, Miriam Moses OBE JP, stated in 1935 at the opening of the Club building in Hanbury Street: "It is the purpose of Brady to create a feeling of friendship between all peoples - regardless of creed or colour." |