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Historic Event

The Power of a Portrait

  • Activism
  • Art
  • Politics
  • Women's Voices
  • Contemporary Era, 2001-present
Three quarter length oil painting portrait of a woman with closely cropped hair holding a teacup and saucer decorated.  She is dressed in a high necked red blouse with a yellow scarf. She also wears a black and white stiped pants.
Growing up, [photography] was my connection to my past. It wasn’t like I could look at a painting. My family didn’t have painted portraits of ourselves hanging around the house. It was a book of family photographs that I had that really impacted me, and growing up with that gave me a deep sense of self, of dignity, and of how to be, how to become.
There’s this whole thing about who gets their photos taken, and then who gets to save that photo. And then our family photos, a lot of times, the subject or the person is written about on the back. Or the old photos sometimes had the date, but without that, after you pass a few generations, that information is lost.
Thumbnail of the series talk with the text of 'Simmons Talks' overlayed on the museum's building.
Black and white photgraph of 6 Black children standing in a line with hands by theri side.  There are 2 boys and 4 girls pictured.  The children are dressed up for school and look directly at the camera
Historic Event

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

  • Activism
Mrs. Nettie Hunt, sitting on steps of Supreme Court, holding newspaper, explaining to her daughter Nikie the meaning of the Supreme Court's decision banning school segregation
Present to Past

Education for All

  • Activism
People waiting in line to vote
Present to Past

Legislating Rights

  • Politics