Deborah Person (left) of Boston, wearing an African-style dress, talks with students (left to right) Glen Grayson, Michael Clayton and Michael Akins, all wearing African dashikis. Grayson was suspended from Boston English High School two weeks ago for wearing an African dashiki to class. His dismissal triggered a boycott by black students in several Boston school last week. The dashiki is a loose-fitting shirt that is worn by men.

On recto: typewritten title and date.
On verso: United Press International stamp.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• African
• Boston English High School
• Boycotts
• Civil Rights Movements
• Costume
• Deborah Person
• Glen Grayson
• Injustice
• Michael Akins
• Michael Clayton
• Racial Discrimination
• Suspension

• Image Dimensions: 8 1/8 x 6 9/16 in. (20.64 x 16.67 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin
• Sheet Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 6 15/16 in. (21.59 x 17.62 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin