I found this picture in New York Public Library’s digital collections. It’s labeled “three African American women, 1906” but there’s no other information about it. The library has collections from all over the world so it’s not even a safe bet to assume they are New Yorkers.
What do you think? Are they sisters, maybe, or cousins? We’ve also seen some group pictures of teachers that look similar.
Whatever they may have been, I doubt they were friends because it is rare—or maybe impossible—for a group of three females to be close friends. Women will understand what I mean! You can have a female duo or a group of four or more women, but not three!
old spirituals 
I think they were cousins since they don’t look alike at all.
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Makes sense!
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I am likely the outlier, but I think they are sisters. It seems unlikely that the expense of a professional photographer would have been incurred to take a photo of friends, or even cousins.
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Ah good point… That’s a good point in favor of them being sisters. I could still see them being teachers. It seems like it was a common practice at the time to photograph teachers, especially at the upper crust schools.
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