General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. (retired), the only black to ever attain the rank of general in the army, at his home looking at a photo of his son, Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. The younger Davis was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general in the Air Force by President Eisenhower today. Young Davis is the first black to attain the rank of general in the Air Force.

On recto: typewritten artist's credit, title and date. On verso: typewritten title, International News Photos stamp, date stamps and newspaper caption affixed.

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:

• Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.
• Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr.
• Broken barriers
• Civil Rights Movements
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Injustice
• Parent and Child
• Racial Discrimination
• United States Air Force
• United States Army

• Image Dimensions: 7 5/16 x 8 3/8 in. (18.57 x 21.27 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen
• Sheet Dimensions: 8 1/16 x 9 7/16 in. (20.48 x 23.97 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen