Denise McNair’s Dress

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black-and-white photograph of Carol Denise McNair’s dress, by Platon. The child sized dress was owned by McNair, one of the four girls killed during the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that took place on September 15, 1963. The light tone, knee length dress has puffed, three quarters length sleeves with gathered cuffs edged in lace. The dress is also gathered at the waist and embellished with a row of embroidered daisies. The dress has a short round neckline with a lace frill and a plain hemline. The background of the photograph is solid black. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?

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