From a SPCR press release:
A photographic exhibit documenting the harsh conditions endured by child laborers during the early 1900s is on display at the Wyoming State Museum through March 6.
Titled, "Let Children Be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine’s Crusade Against Child Labor," the exhibit features 55 enlarged photographs that reveal the circumstances that poor working children endured until legislation against child labor prevailed as late as 1938.
Hine was a sociologist whose photographs captured his abiding concern for children, immigrants and working class people.
He was hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1906 to document the harsh conditions in which children worked. Hine spent 10 years photographing in the canneries, coal mines, cotton mills, farms and sweatshops common during the 20th century.
Through the use of photography, Hine and the NCLC endeavored to gain the attention of the government to arouse public sentiment against child labor practices in the United States.
Organized by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, New York, the exhibit provides excellent educational programming opportunities from both historical and sociological standpoints.
The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne. Please call 777-7022 for more information about this and other State Museum programs.
