Gabriel Brown and Rochelle French, Eatonville, Florida

Gabriel Brown and Rochelle French, Eatonville, Florida

Brown, Gabriel

Blues

Hurston, Zora Neale

This photograph shows blues musicians Gabriel Brown and Rochelle French in Eatonville, Florida in 1935. Zora Neale Hurston introduced Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax to Brown. Lomax’s recordings for the Library of Congress led Brown into a professional recording career with blues labels until 1952. Similar obscure blues artists performed for Floridians across the state. The blues offered musicians a way to criticize racism and exploitation. Performances were a “safe” place to unite and escape the harsh realities of the Jim Crow south.

Lomax, Alan

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007660100/

Library of Congress

June, 1935

No known restrictions.

Image/jpeg

Image

Eatonville, Florida