About this item

Nearly a centurys worth of Scurlock photographs combine to form a searing portrait of black Washington in all its guisesits challenges and its victories, its dignity and its determination. Beginning in the early twentieth century and continuing into the s, Addison Scurlock, followed by his sons, Robert and George, used their cameras to document and celebrate a community unique in the world, and a stronghold in the history and culture of the nations capital.Through photographs of formal weddings, elegant cotillions, ballet studios, and quiet family life, the Scurlocks revealed a world in which the black middle class refused to be defined or held captive by discrimination. From its home on the vibrant U Street corridor, the Scurlock Studio gave us indelible images of leaders and luminaries, of high society and working class, of Washingtonians at work and at play.