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COPYRIGHT 2001 Liberation Publications, Inc.
Gay antiques collector James Allen has raised a ruckus with his shocking collection of lynching photographs, published this past year in a troubling book
When Atlanta antiques dealer James Allen came upon his first photograph of a lynched man, in an old rolltop desk 20 years ago, he had no idea of the project he was about to embark on. What started with a couple of isolated pictures evolved into years of seeking out the antique memorabilia of a shameful chapter in American history: the legacy of lynching. With the help of his partner, computer software designer John Littlefield, Allen, 46, has assembled a unique archive of disturbing photographs and postcards, a collection titled "Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America," which focuses primarily on lynchings in the American South between 1890 and 1930. The collection was shown from March to October at the New York Historical Society and was compiled this year in the pages of a shocking yet important book bearing the same title. Now housed in a special collections library at Atlanta's Emory University, the photos are spawning a national dialogue and possibly a cable TV documentary on these violent, most often racist crimes. Allen's project has changed not only his life but our perceptions and our recorded history...
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