Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1482

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.42 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Doshia Mae and William M. Blackmon photograph collection, 1890-1979 (Bulk 1910-1950), Ms. Coll. 1482, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1890-1979 (inclusive) and 1910-1950 (bulk)

Form:

Photographs

Abstract:

The Doshia Mae and William M. Blackmon photograph collection provides a look at a Black family that is representative of the experience in American history known as the Great Migration. It offers visual documentation of Doshia Mae and William's lives, along with their friends and family, spanning both older and younger generations, beginning in Mississippi, migrating to Tennessee around 1940, and finally moving to Los Angeles, California in 1946. The photographs span in date from approximately the late nineteenth century to 1970, but the majority are from about 1920 to 1950. Most photographs have little or no identifying information, but inference and other clues help provide some context.

Doshia Mae Blackmon (1910-1966) was a nurse, a community volunteer, and cosmetologist. She was born Doshia Mae Thomas in Greenwood, Mississippi. She married William M. Blackmon, but the date of their marriage is unknown. However, a draft card for William Blackmon from October 16, 1940, lists his wife as Doshia Mae Blackmon and that they were living in Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Memphis that she attended Corine Beauty College. She moved with William to Los Angeles, California in 1946, where she became an active member of the Phillips Temple C.M.E. Church. Doshia Mae joined the Progressive Twelve Charity Club that was formed in 1947 and became their business manager in 1950. She also studied nursing and became a member of the staff at Broadway Hospital in 1957. Doshia Mae Blackmon died on June 7, 1966. She did not have any children, but was survived by her husband William, her mother Fannie Hart, and sister, Lucious Campbell.

William McKinley Blackmon (1910-2006) was a United States Army veteran of the Second World War and Korea, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant. He was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Blackmon. He had a brother Lynn L. Blackmon. According to military and census records, he worked a civilian job in 1940 listed as "unskilled occupations in production of confections" for the Price Candy Company in Memphis, Tennessee. It is unclear when he married Doshia Mae Blackmon, but they were listed as married on his draft registration card from 1940. He moved with his wife to Los Angeles, California, sometime in 1946. He survived her death in 1966 and would live until September 11, 2006.

The Doshia Mae and William M. Blackmon photograph collection consists almost entirely of photographs that offer a glimpse into the former lives of Doshia Mae Blackmon and William Blackmon. The few exceptions to this are four typewritten obituary pages, a few newspaper clippings, and a pair of women's eyeglasses. The photographs range in date from approximately the late nineteenth century to 1979, but the majority are from about 1920 to 1950. Most of these photographs are standard black and white prints that were common in the mid-twentieth century, but older formats include photo postcards, cabinet cards, and photobooth style headshots. Some of the photographs are still mounted to black album pages or show signs of formerly being part of an album, but others are simply loose.

The collection provides a look at a Black family that is representative of the experience in American history known as the Great Migration. It offers visual documentation of Doshia Mae and William's lives, along with their friends and family, spanning both older and younger generations, beginning in Mississippi, migrating to Tennessee around 1940, and finally moving to Los Angeles, California in 1946. The 1940s is particularly well represented, with quite a few photographs of both men and women in military uniform. Other themes include weddings, picnics, portraits, children, and a funeral. Photographs dating from approximately 1890 to 1930 appear to be of Doshia Mae's family and childhood.

Very few photographs have any identifying information to help situate them in time, place, or subject. Those few photos that do have writing associated with them are usually too vague or limited to offer much value to someone without a close connection to the Blackmon family. Despite this, approximate dates and possible identities or locations can sometimes be inferred.