Only the wealthy could afford to be photographed in the early days of cameras. For that reason we rarely see pictures of the very poor unless someone like Lewis Wickes Hines photographed a particular group of people to show conditions in the tenements or the mills or the fields.
“A young African American girl on a New Orleans street, 1909.” – This description is all that’s available about this child in the New Orleans archives.
This picture is unusual because there’s not much information available about it and it doesn’t appear to be part of a set. There’s also no information about the photographer. How this lone snapshot happened to be taken and how it survived all these years and made it to the archives is a mystery.
I’d estimate she’s around 8 years old. If we look at her clothes, it’s easy to guess this little girl was growing up in some pretty desperate circumstances. On the other hand, she’s a child and children tear their clothes and get dirty. It looks like she’s a healthy weight—-thin compared to kids today but still healthy and similar to other children of the time.
This picture interested me mainly because of her posture and her facial expression. She doesn’t appear to be scared but definitely a little wary of the photographer or the camera. In fact, it was probably the first time she had seen a camera. Her head is tilted to one side and she looks intently at the camera. She seems curious… but prepared to run, if necessary! The other thing I notice about her is that she has such a determined expression on her face.
What became of this child? What did she do with her life? There’s no way to know but, based on that determination in her face, she could’ve become anything.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
old spirituals 
Made many business trips to New Orleans, Baton Rouge as well as small cities like Gramercy. The Louisiana culture is different and its laws inspired by Napoleonic Code, not English Common Law. The little piece of background visible in the photo appears to be Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
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I’ve never been to Louisiana. My friend and I planned a trip there years ago and I wound up in the hospital that week so she had to go without me. I have a mission to visit all 50 states and that’s one I’m really looking forward to. Re the law down there, I wrote a series of posts called the Kings of Louisiana. It’s about the murder of Dr. Allen King and the famous court case in New Orleans. https://oldspirituals.com/2021/01/18/kings-of-louisiana-1/
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Make a point of having artichoke and oyster soup as well as fried gator.
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Will do! I love insider recommendations!
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The poor child has the look of a streetwise person who has dealt with more issues in her young life than most adults have today ( I include myself with this statement. )
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Me too, Phyllis!
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So much poverty and heartache in the early 20th century. Many fathers died early, leaving their families to fend for themselves. This happened to my dad when he was three years old. The little girl would have been at a much greater disadvantage. These types of photos leave one with so many questions. Did she survive the 1918 flu epidemic? Did she marry a nice man, have children and a happy life? Did she see sons go off to war in WW2? What was her name?
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Yes, I agree. That perseverance/determination in her face is such a valuable quality, I would guess she did better than most.
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