Elizabeth and Hazel:
Two women of Little Rock – by David Margolick
Book review by:
Nicholas Demille
I do not know if David Margolick is a photographer. But at
the very least, it can be said that David Margolick is a professional
appreciator of photography. In his book Elizabeth
and Hazel: Two women of Little Rock, Margolick explores the complex effects
that one photograph has had on a nation, and on the two women immortalized by
it.
In Elizabeth and Hazel,
Margolick does much more than talk about photographs; he walks his readers
through the moments that led up to the creation of the famous image of
Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan-Massery. He describes for his readers the
actions and emotions of many of the bystanders, and of course, he details the
lives of the protagonists before and after the event.
Photographs freeze a moment. They accurately represent a
fraction of a second, to the total exclusion of the rest of time. Margolick
shows that this incredible narrowness of focus leads us to see racism at the
decisive moment, to borrow the words of Henri Cartier-Bresson.
But the question is: can one photograph tell the entire
story of race relations in the U.S.? Can it adequately communicate race relations
in Little Rock? Can a photograph even capture the events that unfolded in front
of Central High School on the morning of September 4, 1957?
These are questions that Margolick grapples with as he tells
the complex life histories of Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan-Massery.
Truthfully, these are questions we should all ask ourselves when reading press
of any kind; particularly those accompanied by an iconic image like the one
captured by Photographer Will Counts.
As a reader, I finished this book feeling that Margolick’s
answer was nuanced. A picture can speak a thousand words, and it can lack
proper nuance at the same time. This is its power and its curse. And this
double-edged sword is why we publish images with captions and copy—to provide
complimentary background to imagery.
The photo of these two women is the perfect point from which to launch an historical exploration. The photo is an impetus to spark a
conversation about where we were as a nation, and how far we’ve come, or
haven’t depending upon your perspective.
Margolick argues convincingly that this one single image held
immense power over the emotional well-being and physical destiny of these two
women. For example, Will Counts’ photograph arguably made Elizabeth Eckford the most
recognizable of all of the Little Rock Nine. It seems that the photo became the curse of Hazel
Bryan-Massery’s public life—one from which she could never convincingly free
herself.
Margolick details the work of Will Counts and the moments
that led up to the creation of his famous image of Elizabeth and Hazel. The
technical and situational aspects of how the image was made are fascinating to
read, and Margolick writes very intelligently about backlighting, f stops,
shutter speeds and even the more ephemeral judgments that Counts made to
preserve such a powerful moment so perfectly.
It is unreasonable for most photographers to expect that
their images will so drastically shape the personal histories of their
subjects. But it would also be an oversight not to mention the responsibility
that image makers have to try and accurately represent situations of historic
significance. Groups such as the NPPA require their membership to abide by just
such a principle when making images.
I had the good fortune to meet David Margolick at a speaking engagement on the IU Bloomington campus on February 24, 2012. Also in attendance was Vivian Counts, widow of the photographer Will Counts who features prominently in Margolick’s book.
