Danny Lyon

Prisoners Raking in a Single Line
1968
From the series “Prison”

Lyon, Danny. Prisoners Raking in Single Line. Jackson Fine Art, https://www.jacksonfineart.com/artists/danny-lyon/prisoners-raking-in-single-line/.

This image is so effective because it shows what America was during that time period. From the landscape, we can assume that it is a field in the southern part of the United States due to the flat land and vast fields. The name of the image is Prisoners Raking in a Single Line, with no specification on people of color, one may even just assume that it would be a mix of all kinds of prisoners, but when we look at that time period the only people put in prison were people of color. When slavery became illegal, but labor from prisoners did not, people of color were targeted so that they would stay in the position that they were in. That is exactly what this image portrays and is why this image is so successful. There are only men of color standing in a line working in the field. Conveying the injustice that the United States had at the time.