Frozen in Time Exhibition (In-Person)

Selections from the Love-Thornell Collection

This holiday season, view and celebrate the Love-Thornell Collection of Black American Photographs from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries.

The Special Collections and Archives Department at the Broward County African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) presents the exhibition Frozen in Time: Selections from the Love-Thornell Collection. 

The advent of photography in 1839 provided an invaluable opportunity to document life at an unforeseen rate by a nearly magical medium. Black Americans became both enthusiastic picture-takers and fascinating subjects. The Love-Thornell Collection of Black American Photographs, donated by Jacqui Love-Thornell and her husband, Kwasi Thornell contains an unprecedented array of early photography--over 1300 images documenting Black American life from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. This holiday season, view and learn about cabinet cards, tintypes, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, stereotypes, cartes de visite and postcards celebrating African Americans and their families from days gone by.

About the African American Research Library and Cultural Center 
The Broward County African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is located in the Sistrunk community, one of the oldest historically Black communities named for one of Fort Lauderdale’s first Black physicians. Opening to the public on October 26, 2002, AARLCC became the third public library of its kind in the United States dedicated to the study of Black history and culture. The 60,000 square-foot Center serves as a repository of materials related to the local, national, and international voices of the African diaspora with more than 85,000 books, manuscripts, artifacts, framed art, print, photography, audiovisual, and documents held in our Adult Services Section and Special Collections. The Youth Services Section features a special collection of Coretta Scott King Award books and the Ashley Bryan Art Collection from illustrators of African Descent. AARLCC also features a 5,000 sq. ft. museum, a 300-seat state-of-the-art theatre, and a Computer Training Center.

About Broward County Libraries 
Broward County Libraries Division, named 2020 and 2015 Library of the Year by the Florida Library Association, was founded in 1974 and is the largest library system in Florida by square footage and one of the busiest, with more than 7.5 million walk-in customers visiting its 38 locations annually. Broward County Libraries Division provides convenient access to a full range of innovative and cost-effective services that satisfy the changing needs of the people of Broward County for information, education, and recreation. 

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