- Too bad we couldn't use these guns in the war - mr.anthropology
- Her expression is so focused, almost rapt. Beautiful. - Gardo
- turquoise & silver ring? - ptorraca
Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Tennessee (LOC)
Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Tennessee
1943 Feb.
1 transparency : color.
Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.
Subjects:
Airplane industry
Women--Employment
World War, 1939-1945
Bombers
Drilling
United States--Tennessee--Nashville
Format: Transparencies--Color
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 12002-41 (DLC) 93845501
General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac
Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a35371
hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3d02219
Call Number: LC-USW36-295
Comments and faves
blech, awesomania!!, smatheson, tragicm, and 876 other people added this photo to their favorites.
E. Howe (60 months ago | reply)
Whoa! What an incredible image. I am SO glad to see that Black women worked on aircraft, too. I love her nail polish, and her ring. I'd LOVE to know her name, if she's still alive. This is such an outstanding portrait!
Nicola A. Hunt (60 months ago | reply)
this is outstanding...i also noticed the details of her appearence as well as the clear reflection and sharp focus...this is just so rad to have on flickr!
lizriz (60 months ago | reply)
Beautiful and inspiring.
serendipity.rachael [deleted] (60 months ago | reply)
What an amazing time captured on film forever!
kenorland (60 months ago | reply)
Okay, they never taught us that black women also worked as Rosie. What a crime of omission! So cool to see this.
TomSlatin.com (59 months ago | reply)
This is amazing!
Maly B. (59 months ago | reply)
I am so inspired!
johnpettit (59 months ago | reply)
wow this photo has been getting a lot of play in the blogosphere...
WireLizard (59 months ago | reply)
Just hit BoingBoing.
Cool image, all around!
Wonder if there's any way at all of figuring out who this is, if she's still alive, etc? *That* would be seriously cool.
Lomara (59 months ago | reply)
My Grandma was a "Rosie" at the Vultee plant in Downey, CA during the same year this photo was taken. I've never found a photo of her at work during that time. This photo makes me hopeful there is one out there somewhere, maybe in the Library of Congress.
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Seen in your 1930s-40s in Color set. (?)
fizzix (59 months ago | reply)
Excellent image! I just found out about the LoC photostream - thanks!
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Seen in your 1930s-40s in Color set. (?)
fontgoddess (59 months ago | reply)
I believe this photo is another picture of the same woman.
coming again (59 months ago | reply)
Wonderful photo!
However, she is métis not black... curious this American trend to see black people everywhere. To my eyes, she is as white as black (surely a father black and a mother white or conversely). It is even more blatanton this photo.
Maybe... the spiritual mother of Barack Obama? ;-)
ocker3 (59 months ago | reply)
I understand what you're saying coming_again, however 'white' people (of which I am one) tend to see any minority mix as being fully that minority, ie if someone is 10% minority, they're treated as 100% usually. I would say it's actually a feature of a number of conservative racial cultures, often an Indian/Chinese baby will be treated by the larger Indian family as being predominantly Chinese rather than half Indian.
I don't think it's solely a trait of people from the USA (note that there is a South as well as North America, and three countries in North America at that) to see a slight minority heritage as a disadvantage or a person of that heritage as Not-White.
Laserone ☆ Lauren (59 months ago | reply)
AWESEOM find!
Awed Job (59 months ago | reply)
Felice House completed a series of War Women oil paintings based on some of these LOC images: link
thanks to Old Grimy for pointing that out.
Miss Hazel (59 months ago | reply)
a powerful image of a powerful woman
SteelePop.. (59 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called 6th element - 碳 - カーボン - 탄소 - углерод, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
tulippluspanda (59 months ago | reply)
what an inspiring photo, and the color is so rich!
my grandmother also worked on planes during WWII, as a Naval mechanic in New Orleans. I tear up with pride every time I open that photo album...
submandave (59 months ago | reply)
coming_again, this was 1943, so if you seriously believe this woman's parentage consisted of "surely a father black and a mother white or conversely" you are woefully ignorant of the racial situation of the times. I agree that she probably is not of 100% African extraction (few are), but I am sure that through her entire life she was identified by both others and herself as "black". I see no insult in referring to her as such, unless one believes there is something inherently bad about being black, a premise I am unwilling to concede.
Casto Creations (59 months ago | reply)
I don't care what color she is ... she rocks! This photo is incredible. My grandmother was also a "Rosie" with Boing in Washington State making airplane wings. It was an amazing time.
He Who Must Be Named (59 months ago | reply)
Powerful image!
cochran.lynn (59 months ago | reply)
Iconic
annick vanderschelden (59 months ago | reply)
Very good "Vengeance" portrait.
CarbonNYC (59 months ago | reply)
It's such a great combination of "personal" and "industrial." Reflections often seem overplayed, but here the reflection seems so natural and is so instrumental to the composition. I just love this shot!
sylkyred1 (59 months ago | reply)
I was not able to attach a tag as there are already 75. This is such a wonderful capture. She is in her overalls yet has her nails painted. Quiet strength.
Tyroc (59 months ago | reply)
I first saw this picture on the LOC website about three years ago...I thought it was breathtaking then as well as now...
KarenJoy1956 (59 months ago | reply)
I just love this pic - bless her wherever she is.
KBlood (59 months ago | reply)
Women at Work
tiffanybbrown (58 months ago | reply)
@coming_again: In the U.S., she is legally black, though in 1943, the term in use was 'Negro.'
In fact, she could have had blonde hair and blue eyes yet would be legally black if she had any African ancestry. (Black is the only racial category to which this 'one-drop rule' applies, by the way.)
And she appears lighter in the other photo thanks to bad makeup. There weren't many options available to black women back then, and the few available tended towards the chalky or the reddish.
2Serenity (58 months ago | reply)
@coming_again - to add to the excellent comments of @tiffanybbrown - please read the book, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson and also The Human Stain by Phillip Roth. Maybe an inside into the mixed world may help you understand your confusion. Wish you the best.
Don Digi (58 months ago | reply)
Gran concepto, buena luz y composición. Una imagen de calidad.
Saludos
Athena's Armoury (58 months ago | reply)
This is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing.
Francys (57 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Wonder Woman, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Lyyrix (57 months ago | reply)
So beautiful...I"ve never seen this!....look at her arms!!...
Nat-tastic (57 months ago | reply)
Women were so classy back then!
Beth.Fernandez (56 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Working 9 to 5, and we'd love to have you join our group and add your photo!
The Library of Congress (56 months ago | reply)
Lomara:
To find more images, we suggest searching in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, as there are black-and-white photographs in our collections which were taken at the Vultee plant in Downey, CA. Perhaps you'll spot your grandmother in one!
Go to: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html and type in VULTEE DOWNEY to see what we have. (After you search, try clicking the Preview Images button to view the results as a thumbnail grid.)
Best of luck!
Lomara (55 months ago | reply)
Timothy West (55 months ago | reply)
awesome images so authentic... trcwest.com
ric2801 (51 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Man @ work , and we'd love to have this added to the group!
The Library of Congress (51 months ago | reply)
ric2801: We received your request to have a Library of Congress photo added to your group Man @ work. Please click on the "Invite this photo to..." link below the comment box and we'll accept it.
johey24 (51 months ago | reply)
I love this photo. Truly a Woman with Soul!
If you have the time, please add your photo to our Group, SWOTM at SWOTM Soul Woman of the Month Group)
The Library of Congress (51 months ago | reply)
Beth love s Boston: We received your request to have a Library of Congress photo added to your group: Working 9 to 5. Please click on the "Invite this photo to..." link below the comment box and we'll accept it.
The Library of Congress (51 months ago | reply)
johey24: We received your request to have a Library of Congress photo added to your group: SWOTM Soul Woman of the Month Group. Please click on the "Invite this photo to..." link below the comment box and we'll accept it.
iamchanelle (50 months ago | reply)
awesome.
Peggy Archer (50 months ago | reply)
My grandmother also worked as a riveter at Vultee Nashville in the 40's.
I wonder if she knew this lady?
Jessica Higgins (50 months ago | reply)
these are all so cool
CowFace (50 months ago | reply)
wow this set is awesome
yvso (50 months ago | reply)
Lovely!!