This is a picture was taken in 1953. the picture is of segregated water fountains in a school in North Carolina. It was taken by Elliott Erwitt[w1] . It was taken with black and white film because colored film was not widely used in the 1950’s; it adds a great effect to the image because the viewer gets a better understanding of when the picture was taken. The first response I get from this image is sheer amazement! I get that feeling because I have never seen something so disturbing in a public place before. I can’t even imagine a place or a time where this would be allowed to happen; even though, I know that it has already taken place. I can feel the sadness and fear in this young man; it looks as if he is exhausted because his hands are on his knees, and it looks like all he would like is to take a drink from the refreshing drinking fountain that has refrigerated water. It appears to be hot because the young man’s face looks shinny and sweaty. In this picture it appears that all he feels he is allowed to do is glance; it seems like he feels as if he can’t even take a longing gaze, because his head looks as if it is moving. The thing stopping him from looking is the fear of being beat to death or put in jail. He doesn’t even look like he wants to get close enough to accidentally touch the “white” drinking fountain; He is standing on the opposite side, and he is facing the “white” drinking fountain as if it has poisonous barbs. This picture is important to the history of the United States and it will always remind the world of this unspeakable battle between white people and other ethnicities, it should not be forgotten. If it is forgotten then humanity will just make the same mistakes again. Those are some of the details I see in this image.
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