[Joe Louis on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey]
Item
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Title
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[Joe Louis on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey]
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Description
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A black and white photograph taken by John W. Mosley (1907-1969). The photo features heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (1914-1981) who sits in the center socializing with eight people on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey. From 1937 to 1949, Joe Louis reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He defended his title 25 times and was beaten only three times (Martha Louis 1991).
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The woman standing while opening or closing a container (fourth from the left of Louis) appears to be his third wife, Martha Jefferson Louis (1912-1991). Martha Jefferson Louis became the first African American woman to practice law in the state of California in 1943 (All Around with Alma 1943).
Between 1900 and the early 1950s, African Americans were socially restricted to use the Missouri Avenue Beach Area affectionately called Chicken Bone Beach. Even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made segregation illegal, Black families and friends and community groups packed the beach (Chicken Bone Beach Jazz 2019).
Mosley used the medium of photography to shape how Black Americans were represented. From the 1930s through the 1960s, he photographed daily Black life and vitality in segregated Philadelphia. He was intentional about capturing Black happiness, success, dignity, and assertiveness.He instinctively knew how to “frame a shot” and “capture people in their environment so that place and face seemingly interact” (Willis-Thomas 1989, 105).
More information is available in the annotation of the image.
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Rights
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This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only. For access to the original or a high resolution reproduction, and for permission to publish, please contact Temple University Libraries, the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection (blockson@temple.edu; 215-204-6632).
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Creator
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Mosley, John W.
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Format
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Image
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Publisher
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Contributor
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Extent
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1 image
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Identifier
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BPA001X0319520000003
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Date Created
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(c. 1950's)
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Is Part Of
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John W. Mosley Photograph Collection
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Subject
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African Americans
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African American boxers
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Atlantic City (N.J.)
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Bathing suits
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Beaches
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Black people
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Boxers (Sports)
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Celebrities
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Leisure
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Louis, Joe, 1914-1981
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Joy
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Mosley, John W., 1907-1969
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Photography
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Segregation
