A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Stanley Forman was born in 1945.  Since then, public schools were integrated, American engaged in the Vietnam, Korean, Gulf, Afghani, and Iraq wars.  We have seen the first Black president elected to office, we have mourned the loss of pop sensation Michael Jackson, and we have withstood natural and manmade disasters.  Change is a constant.

As many artists do, Mr. Forman commented on political happenings through his work: photography.  His photography has earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and has enriched America's art scene.  Photographs allow time to stand still; Forman has successfully managed to not only capture a time, but a feeling.

In his photograph "Soiling Old Glory," Forman captured these scenes: 

• America's bussing policy, in which black and white students are taken on busses out of their neighborhoods to attend different schools.  This policy came into effect after "Seperate but Equal" was ruled unconstututional.  Public schools were required to integrate, even if it involved making students attend school far away from their homes, to meet racial quotas.
• Intolerance.  In 1976, when "Soiling Old Glory" was taken, racial tension was high.  The Civil Rights Act of 1965, enacted under President Linden Johnson, was still in its implimentation stage.  (Please refer to page 64 of this report to see how prevelent Civil Rights issues were in American Government)

Forman successfully captured a history and emotion in his picture.  I have not come across a photo so thought provoking as this one in a long time.  All things considered, I am only a teenager, but my teenage mind can still appreciate great art.  It was recognized as such in 1977, when "Soiling Old Glory" won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography.