Football player hugging his mother, Brooklyn, NY

1963
(American, 1929–2006)
Image: 21.9 x 32.7 cm (8 5/8 x 12 7/8 in.); Paper: 27.7 x 35.4 cm (10 7/8 x 13 15/16 in.)
© Leonard Freed /Magnum Photos
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

In 2020, Black athletes comprised 70% of the National Football League players.

Description

This photograph was taken as part of a multiyear photographic exploration of the fabric of daily African American life that Leonard Freed titled Black in White America. The players shown are likely from a college or amateur team, but some of them may have dreamed of turning pro. The National Football League had a few Black players in 1920, when it originated, but none between 1933 and 1945. In 1962, the year before this photograph, the Washington Redskins become the final NFL team to integrate; they did so under threat of civil-rights legal action.
Football player hugging his mother, Brooklyn, NY

Football player hugging his mother, Brooklyn, NY

1963

Leonard Freed

(American, 1929–2006)
America, 20th century

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