Book Description

Marking the forty-fifth anniversary of the desegregation of Savannah, this book celebrates the civil rights photographs of Frederick C. Baldwin. First exhibited at the Telfair in 1983 under the title, " . . . We Ain't What We Used to Be": Photographs by Frederick C. Baldwin, these historically and aesthetically important images have recently been exhibited again, accompanied by an enhanced and expanded catalogue. Baldwin's images chronicle crucial events in the civil rights movement from voter registration drives to meetings in the longshoreman's hall to public marches and demonstrations, culminating in a visit to Savannah by Martin Luther King Jr. Baldwin depicted the local Ballot Bus; the exhaustive efforts to convince potential voters to register and the resulting long lines of African Americans at the courthouse; protest marches and prayer meetings; and finally, the transcendent moment of King's visit to Savannah. Today, Baldwin's photographs serve as potent reminders of the struggle for equality in Savannah and as evidence of the powerful role of photography in documenting and validating that struggle. The book also contains numerous interviews with and comments of Savannahians who were active in the events of the period.