Dr. Doris Derby’s "Una Sewing Co-op – Black Dolls B"

1968

Derby used photography to help build community.

Activist and photographer Dr. Doris Derby (1939–2022) documented Black community life and creative work in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. She helped create a craft cooperative in Mississippi that trained African American men and women in sewing, leatherwork, and other crafts.

In Una Sewing Co-op – Black Dolls B, Derby captures Black women crafting dolls that reflect their own beauty and heritage. By documenting their creative labor, Derby honors community-based crafting as a source of both cultural pride and economic independence.