April 1938. "Drinking fountain on the county courthouse lawn." Halifax, North Carolina. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the FSA.
Submitted by Texcritic on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 9:30am.
I wonder if there is a near identical drinking fountain on the opposite side of the lawn for whites. This fountain is well made and mounted on a cement base. Was this the former white fountain which has now been downgraded after the installation of a new cooled water fountain indoors?
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 6:14am.
This image brought to mind the powerful lyrics of Strange Fruit, sung by Billie Holiday:
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 12:20am.
This has disappeared into history for most people, but I remember it quite vividly. We still had two water fountains and four toilets in North Carolina in the late 1950s.
