Black History in Color

In honor of Black History Month, I will be discussing a recent trend about the images of the Civil Rights era. “Photos from the civil rights movement were originally taken in color but shown in black in white to make them appear older.” The civil rights movement occurred in the United States between 1954 to 1968, and there was a breakthrough with color photography during the 1960s. Many people would start to believe in this rumor, because the dates align with one another. But the reason why this accusation is false is that color photography was expensive.

Not only was a colored film more expensive, but printing in color was also too. Due to economic reasons, most newspapers did not start printing in color until a couple of decades after the civil rights movement. In 1979, only 12% of newspapers had some images printed in color. It wasn’t until 1993 that the number had increased to 97%. The colored film also took significantly more time to develop. For photojournalists with short deadlines, this was more of a hassle as they did not have the time to wait. Newspapers that were printed on the same day as a major event were almost never printed in color.

Accompanying money and time constraints, many photographers and documentations preferred black and white images over color for artistic purposes. Believing that colored images are a distraction from the entirety of the image at hand, many photographers have chosen to select black and white images. Many photographers would prefer to see a clear contrast between the people's images in black and white as it is thought to represent a stronger image.

As a result of costly expenses, short deadlines, and aesthetic purposes, photos from the civil rights movement were originally taken in black and white. However, there are rare colored images presented to the public at the National Museum of American History. With the advanced technology we have today, many of these black and white images can be colorized to feel the full extent of the images.