John H. White's Chicago
A legendary photojournalist's portrait of his city
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1973-1974
John H. White bought his first camera at the age of 13 for 50 cents and 10 bubble gum wrappers. He went on to become a sergeant and photographer in the Marine Corps and a photojournalist in Chicago.From 1973 to 1974, he was hired by the Environmental Protection Agency to document the lives of the 1.2 million black residents of his city. For two years, White explored the city, making intimate and powerful pictures of neighbors and strangers, capturing Chicagoans in states of joy, sorrow, reverence and celebration. He supplemented his images with meticulously researched captions that drew on statistics to illuminate the economic landscape of the “black business capital of the United States.”White would later continue an illustrious career in photojournalism and education, winning hundreds of awards, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1982.
Many black faces in this project... portray pride, love, beauty, hope, struggle, joy, hate, frustration, discontent, worship and faith. In short, portraits of people who feel they are individuals and are proud of their heritage. - John H. White
Today Chicago is believed to be the black business capital of the United States. But blacks have a harder time staying in business than their white counterparts. Statistics note that 80% of black businesses do not survive two years. Racial prejudice, lack of capital and expertise are partly responsible. - John H. White
The Chicago area census figures show a significant gap in economic security between blacks and whites. Of families earning less than $8,000 in Chicago in 1970, some 50% were black compared to 21% white. Median black income at that time was 65% that of the whites, an improvement of 5% in 20 years but an actual widening of the dollar gap. - John H. White
From 1960 to 1970, the percentage of Chicago blacks with an income of $7,000 or more jumped from 26 to 58%. Median black income during the period increased from $4,700 to $4,883, but the dollar gap between their group and the whites actually widened. - JOhn H. White
