Lawrence Exhibit Captures Lingering Signs Of America’s Segregated Past

By Steve Kraske,

Published September 17, 2021 at 4:53 PM CDT

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1 of 3 — Segregation Wall, Templin's Saloon; Gonzales, Texas 2016

At the time of its construction (circa 1906) only Caucasian customers were allowed to sit in the front of the saloon. All Hispanic, Latino and African-American customers had to sit behind the wall.

Rich Frishman / Rich Frishman

2 of 3 — Colored Entrance to Ellis Theatre; Philadelphia, Mississippi

The "Colored Entrance" tucked to the left of the ticket booth led directly up the stairway to the segregated section of the balcony.

Rich Frishman / Rich Frishman

3 of 3 — Former Greyhound Bus Station; Jackson, Mississippi 2019

On May 24, 1961, 27 Freedom Riders (both white and black students) arrived at the station and were immediately arrested and charged with trespassing into the whites-only room.

Rich Frishman / Rich Frishman

'Ghosts of Segregation' presents photographic evidence of the prejudice and exclusion people of color faced.

Photographer Richard Frishman has searched out structures and sites in America that represent the segregation that was the law of the land, written and unwritten.

A bricked-over entrance once used by “colored” people to enter a theater, a “hanging tree” that became a gallows, and a concentration camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII are all part of Frishman's “Ghosts of Segregation” exhibition currently at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Richard Frishman, photographer, documentary filmmaker

"Ghosts of Segregation" is on exihibit 9 a.m. -9 p.m., September 10 - December 12, at the Lawrence Art Center, 940 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Admission is free, but reservations are required.

INSIGHT Art Talk: Rich Frishman, Q&A sessions, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21, 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 23, 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 25 at the Lawrence Arts Center Gallery, 940 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, KS 66044. Attendance is limited to 25 per session. The event is free but reservations are required.