The Family of Man
“The purpose of these pages is twofold.
To serve as a remembrance of our happy times in the past and of our own search for ourselves.
To serve as a message of hope for a successful life in every respect in the future.
A past and a future—both tied together by the present—not only the present, but love—without which neither the past nor the future would exist.”— Judy Rand and Sue Latham, inscribed in The Family of Man, probably written in 1964, given to me as a gift at our graduation from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, the women’s college of the University of North Carolina at that time.
Migrant Mother Lange 1936
The Family of Man was a photographic exhibition of 503 pictures from 68 countries created by Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. The exhibit then toured the world, drawing record-breaking crowds for eight years. The book from the exhibit became an instant success and has never been out of print.
My husband directs the archaeology of our past memories from our basement, and recently brought me this photographic book from the "The Family of Man" exhibition to consider giving to one of our granddaughters for graduation.
It is the perfect gift to pass on. Zoe will not know Judy Rand and Sue Latham, who gifted the book to me. But the book will always carry the inscribed love of these two dear college friends from my dorm. Unfortunately, in the intervening years, I have lost touch with Judy and Sue. However, my hope is that the above inscription from Judy and Sue in the book will carry the love of friends who changed my life, and may also bring meaning to Zoe at a similar age in her adventures, more than half a century later.
We all have a call: to continue to treasure the love we received from friends and pass that love on as best we can. This copy of The Family of Man is a treasured, visible tradition that allows this to happen. Discussing the photographs in the book with my granddaughter and talking about the friends who gifted it will be another way—simply spending time together in the present moment, remembering the past, and looking to the future. A sacred time.
A wonderful postscript. Through Facebook, Judy Rand and I recently reconnected. She is still the amazing person I once knew. After many years in the academic world, she is now an artist and musician living in West Virginia.
Joanna joannaseibert.com