“It will be a thing of Joy and Beauty”: Angel Symbolism in "The Brownies’ Book" (1920-1921)

This essay examines the strategic use of photographs in "The Brownies’ Book", first magazine for, about, and (partly) by African American children. Edited W. E. B. Du Bois, Augustus Granville Dill, Jessie Fauset, Book" ("TBB") appeared between January 1920 December 1921. Designed specifically to counter demeaning depictions Americans (both visual textual) that commonly circulated U.S. mainstream culture at time, "TBB" made a particular effort represent their audience positive empowering light. In close readings two cover images depict Black children as angels, I will interrogate politics poetics photography Book". argue combat racism strategically transforms figure angelic child, staple nineteenth-century sentimental novel White default. Idealizing child an angel, challenges hegemonic angel iconography marshaling composition, style, form, technological process. As result, "TBB"’s trailblazing iconographic intervention did help visually afford innocence but failed establish child-angel emblem racial uplift. today’s register it emblematizes, instead, innocent "victim".