Let Your Motto Be Resistance
Gordon
In the spring of 1863, a slave known only as Gordon escaped from a Louisiana plantation and, after a harrowing ten–day journey, found security among Union troops stationed at Baton Rouge. Before enlisting in a black regiment, he was examined by military doctors who discovered horrific scarring on his back, the result of a brutal whipping by his former overseer. Two local photographers created this image to document the harsh treatment Gordon had received. A searing indictment of slavery, Gordon's portrait became one of the most powerful images in the abolitionist cause. As a New York journalist wrote, "This Card Photograph should be multiplied by 100,000 and scattered over the States. It tells the story in a way that even Mrs. [Harriet Beecher] Stowe can not approach, because it tells the story to the eye." Gordon fought in several battles, yet nothing is known about his subsequent life.
The exhibition, national tour, and catalogue were made possible by a generous grant from the lead sponsor, MetLife Foundation.
Additional Support was provided by the Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.