"I am moved by it in multiple ways because [it shows the] experience of Black Americans in this country, and Black women specifically. She would have had the wherewithal to get the money and take herself to a portrait studio. These were silver prints: You had to make an appointment, find a photographer willing to take your picture as a Black person, go to the photographer, and then sit for [several] minutes while the photograph actually cured. I find that incredibly inspiring because it reflects the resilience of Black women and Black people, which is emblematic of our experience in the United States."
"Her husband, Terrusa, was a farmer and was listed as a free Black man. In that same census, her daughter, Julia Ann, was also listed as a fugitive from the state, as well as Julia Ann's husband, who was a minister, and their children. So [the portrait] was very clearly a family endeavor for Terrusa, who must have been a farmer of means who had land and property to support a wife and daughter, his daughter's husband, and grandchildren."
"What it also represents is what we see today in that family has an extended context in Black American life. We have always been in the business of [lending] support to relatives and close associates as a means of economic uplift. We have a spirit o"
A mid-1850s portrait depicts Jeannette Wilkins in a silk dress and bonnet, her left hand resting on a table to display a wedding ring. Census records place Jeannette as enslaved in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, about ten years earlier and as a fugitive by 1860. The silver-print photograph required an appointment and a willing photographer, implying financial means and determination. Her husband Terrusa was recorded as a free Black farmer who supported multiple family members, indicating property and resources. The portrait symbolizes the resilience of Black women and longstanding family-based economic support and uplift.
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