Introduction

The images presented in this digital timeline portray the domestic employees of the artist’s family, including Jasper Staples, Rosie Staples (Jasper’s second wife), Jessie Mae Staples (Jasper’s third wife), and Lucille Crowder Fleming. The images span from 1920 to 1995, offering us windows into the lives of these individuals during a period of deep societal changes across the country. In addition to depictions of happy moments, this timeline shares uncomfortable truths related to the African American experience in the Mississippi Delta of the twentieth century.