Our memories are but snapshots ...

Train, Romare Bearden.

I added a bit at the very end of yesterday's entry on Contested Spaces, including this link to a summary of U.S. Census Data, District of Columbia - Population Statistics by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1800 to 1990.

And what I wrote to accompany this was something like this (already revised):

Memories are snapshots of our brief moments in the mosaic of history.

Magazine Stand, Union Station, 1930s?-1940s?, Washington, DC. Horydzack Collection, Library of Congress.

(Or we could get sociological and talk about agency vs. structure, but to me, these aren't oppositional constructions, but merely different sides of the same coin, and therefore intimately connected, especially when we consider our role in making change and understanding history.)

Ad produced by Kevin Palmer.

Speaking of snapshots in history, Flickr is amazing, because it provides a platform for so many photographers to share their great work with us. Two DC area photographers who do so are Elvert Barnes and Furcafe. I'm also partial to my friend, neighborhood photographer Inked78. Of course, there is the great BeyondDC website (not part of Flickr). Even yesterday, somehow I came across Daquella Manera, an area photographer-blogger who writes in Spanish. (Blogs: Daquella Manera; Furcafe; Frozen Tropics.)

Word.

Index Keywords: history