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Everyday People: Through Freedom’s Lens

Given the ongoing Civil Rights struggle, it would be tough to imagine a more fitting name for a Black street photographer of the late 1960s and ’70s than Freedom B. Goode.

Goode, who made a career as an extension agent in the Gloucester County area, served in World War II and was decorated by no less than Charles de Gaulle for honorable service. More locally, Goode was a pallbearer at the funeral of T.C. Walker, the man born enslaved who went on to become the first Black man to practice law in Gloucester. Goode championed education for Black youth through his relationships with Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald and was instrumental in getting the Rosenwald schools into Gloucester. 

When Goode returned to Virginia after his military service, he took a job as an extension agent for the county, helping farmers by visiting, observing and educating them about best practices. While traveling through the region, the photographer used his 35mm camera to document many of the people and places he visited, providing insight into the lives of local people through his lens. 

His time off was frequently spent picture-taking as well, focusing on Black weddings, recitals and even Gloucester High School’s first integrated classes. “There are the usual expected extension agent photographs of Black and white farmers,” says Elizabeth Blackney, executive director of the Cook Foundation. “At a time when many farmers were moving away from an agrarian culture, these photos allow us to honor the heritage of these people who farmed and worked together as part of the fabric of Gloucester.”

After Goode died in 1985, the more than 700 photographs and slides he’d taken essentially died with him. Housed in boxes in the basement of his former home, they sat forgotten and collecting dust until 2023 when his daughter donated the archive to the Fairfield Foundation, which focuses on the archeology and historic preservation of key sites in Gloucester and the Middle Peninsula.

The photographs made their way to the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester, thanks to the affiliated 25-year-old Cook Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the principle that art should be accessible to everyone. The museum, housed in a former YMCA building that was completely gutted and renovated, opened in June 2023 with a retrospective of self-taught folk artist Kacey Carneal. The inaugural exhibition was curated from the 300 paintings acquired by the Cook Foundation after Carneal’s death in 2022 and represents the largest Carneal collection in the country.

“Freedom B. Goode” opened at the museum October 1 in partnership with the Fairfield Foundation. The eponymous exhibit of never-before-seen photography showcases a fascinating and critical time in the country’s rapidly shifting culture. In some cases, multiple images of the same person or people are on display so that visitors can better understand Goode’s artistic process in choosing which image to print.

One series shows a young Black man and every inch of him screams 1972, the year the photograph was taken. From the groovy striped pants with the requisite ’70s button fly, to the oversized watch and chain bracelet, to his facial hair and moderate Afro hairstyle, he presents himself as a man of the times…and the times they were a-changing.

But it’s his facial expression—cool, confident and with just a bit of attitude in some shots—that radiates the Black pride of the era. “Haven’t we all had a cool friend like him?” Blackney says, adding that in 1968, Gloucester’s Black residents numbered 40% of the overall population, while that Black population is now down to 8%. “The image is an echo of the past and we hope the community can help us identify him.”

Listening sessions have been held in the community as a means of involving everyone who might be able to help put names to the many people Goode photographed decades ago. “Those sessions have been my favorite part of this project so far,” Blackney says. “They were raucous, and full of laughter, with such a sense of community. Everyone was trying to make connections and figure out who was who.”

In addition to Goode’s photographs of the time, newspaper photographs from the era will be used for contextualization. 

Music of the late ’60s to mid-’70s will also be a vibrant part of the exhibit. “We want people to feel immersed, to transport them back to this place, this time,” Blackney says. “These photographs convey the hope that everybody felt at the time.”

A big part of the goal of the exhibit is to provide a space where people can come together, discuss their interpretations and remember Gloucester at a very different point in its history. “These photos show the heartbeat of Gloucester at the time, so we expect that they’ll inspire conversations among visitors,” Blackney says. “People will have an opportunity to come back and reminisce together. The exhibit is a reminder of how united this community has been, which may be unexpected.”

Blackney intends for “Freedom B. Goode” to be a celebration of both photography and Gloucester, pointing out that having visuals makes memories concrete. “Gloucester has become a thriving arts community through creative placemaking and pride of place,” she says. “But farming has been the backbone of this community going back to the Native population. We’re excited to show the community what Gloucester was like during this small snapshot of time.”

Cards and a box will be provided so that visitors can share their memories of the people, places and era in Gloucester, or, if they prefer, share their memories online on the museum’s website. “These images are everything and nothing like you’d expect, and we want visitors to draw their own conclusions,” Blackney says. “We hope folks are touched, moved and excited to see them. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes it’s worth a lot more if it ignites someone’s memory. We’re so excited about what these photographs will mean to the community.”

“Freedom B. Goode” opened October 1 and runs through May 2025. Sponsored by the Cook Foundation in partnership with the Fairfield Foundation.

Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester  |  6894 Main Street, Gloucester  |  fineartsmuseumofgloucester.org

Cook Foundation  |  thecookfoundation.org  |

Fairfield Foundation  |  fairfieldfoundation.org