History,CuriositiesAUG 20, 2025

24 Colorized Photos That Show The African American Reality Of The 1920s

Viktorija Strelciunaite and Louise Pieterse

When we think of the 1920s, we often picture a black-and-white world of flappers, prohibition, and smoky jazz bars. But for African Americans, it was a decade of contradictions and change. This became the era of the Great Migration as families moved out of the South in search of a better life, often to be met with even more hardship. It was also the age of the Harlem Renaissance, where we saw a brilliant explosion of art and culture, but with the grim backdrop of Jim Crow and the KKK still looming. By bringing these old photographs to life with color, we can close the distance of a century and see the people in them not as historical subjects, but as living individuals. We see soldiers filled with pride, children in classrooms, and communities building a world of their own, all in subtle color.

#1 Girl In Sewing Class, Presbyterian Colored Mission, Louisville, Kentucky, 1922

#2 Sgt. Henry Johnson Of The 369th Harlem Fighters, Poses Wearing The Croix De Guerre, 1919

#3 Man Granulating Sugar, Reserve Refining Company, Reserve, Louisiana, 1922

#4 Soldiers Of The 369th 'Harlem Hellfighters' Wearing The Cross Of War Medal, Pose For A Photo On Their Trip Back To New York, 1919

#5 Marcus Garvey, Founder Of The Universal Black People Improvement Association, Wearing His Signature Uniform As "Provisional President Of Africa" During A Parade Through Harlem, NYC, 1922

#6 Young Man Outside, Alabama State Reform School, Mount Meigs, Alabama, 1922

#7 Black Flappers, 1920s

#8 Social Worker Visiting Family, Plymouth Settlement House, Louisville, Kentucky, 1922

#9 Children At Lunch, Wahneta Day Nursery, Chicago, 1922

#10 Nursery School Children, Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1922

#11 Visiting Nurse With Baby At Stewart House, Gary, Indiana, 1922

#12 Laborers At Docks, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1922

#13 Women Workers, East Calvary Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1922

#14 Women At Dressmaking Class, St. Mark's Church, Chicago, 1922

#15 Staff Outside Community House, Sharp Street Memorial Church, Baltimore, Maryland, 1922

#16 Congregants Inside Tent, East Calvary Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1922

#17 Congregants With Drinking Fountain, Ebenezer Church, Jacksonville, Florida, 1922

#18 Men Working In Foundry, Birmingham, Alabama, 1922

#19 Men Cutting Sugar Cane, Reserve Refining Company, Reserve, Louisiana, 1922

#20 Children Playing And Laundry Hanging In Logan Court, Washington, D.C., 1922