A Harlem Family
Photo Spread from "A Harlelm Family," LIFE Magazine, March 8, 1968.
This photographic essay chronicles the life of the Fontanelles, a Black family living in poverty in New York City. Parks’ essay was part of a special section for this issue titled “The Cycle of Despair: The Negro and the City.”
Annotations:
Page 47: This image is of one of the youngest Fontenelle children, in distress due to hunger and unclean living conditions in the tenement apartment he shares with his mother and siblings.
Page 50: One of the Fontenelle children sleeps huddled under a blanket underneath the crumbling walls of the family home. The heat is out, and the mattress is decrepit and stained. These are the regular conditions the Fontenelles have to face on a daily basis in their apartment.
Page 53: This composite of images shows how run-down the Fontenelle home is, and how they try to manage. One daughter washes clothes in the bathtub, where they all bathe; and the son puts up cloths in order to keep the apartment insulated.
Page 61: Richard Fontenelle is being treated for injuries sustained in a fight he had with his wife, Bessie. The fights are an unfortunate regular occurrence in their home, but this time Bessie burned him with hot liquid, which sent him to the hospital.
Page 64: Bessie Fontenelle recovers with her child tucked underneath her after having a fight with her husband, Richard. The fights are an unfortunate regular occurrence in their home, but this time Bessie burned him with hot liquid, which sent him to the hospital.