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Albert Dixon Cunningham III

1 week ago

This is the only photo (so far) of me and my siblings, taken in our paternal grandmother’s high-rise apartment on Chicago’s south side, on Grandmother’s 71st birthday, October 12, 1971. At 19, I’m the oldest by far of my siblings, with the big ‘fro and “subdued” look; my sister Marion, 12, sits to the right. Grandmother gazes on gamely, as Dad holds unhappy Kati, eleven months; Maggi, five, and Kristi, three, complete the portrait. . . almost. If you look closely, you’ll see an arm behind Grandmother’s back.

Grandmother has just met her three younger grandchildren; since my parents’ divorce in 1965 and my father’s subsequent remarriage, she and her only son have been estranged. Her “faux solidarity” with my mother, Marion, and I, particularly in light of my father having married a white woman, only adds to the stress of being left “the man of the house” for my mother, sister, and maternal grandmother, who lives with us. A surprise “reunion” is my Creative Breakthrough, arranging with them to drive over from Cleveland, for her birthday on Columbus Day, a national holiday.

I hadn’t bargained on Mother finding out, much less insisting on coming to the party! By the time this photo was taken, “you could’ve bought me for a nickel and gotten four cents change”. Not only was Mother there; she was engaged – she organized and TOOK this photo! It has only occurred to me in recent years that Mother was a skilled photographer, who had operated the Photography Lab at Talladega College, including developing her own prints. If she’d had access to Photoshop, my STEPMOTHER’S ARM would likely have disappeared as well. ... See MoreSee Less