A Fly in the Buttermilk 

Jeanna Penn | Oakland, California, USA 

Jeanna Penn used a photograph of a lone Black woman among a group of white people to explore what it means to be a minority in a community. She writes: “For A Fly in the Buttermilk, I was inspired to work with the photograph of Louise Manning and the Hayden Family because it was such a unique photograph for that period. I was struck by Louise’s poise, confidence, and connection with the others in the picture. She clearly has a close relationship with this family which is further suggested in the inscription on the back that reads ‘The Big 4’. Louise is a part of this community. “’A fly in the buttermilk’ is an old saying used to describe the experience of being the only Black person among a group of White people. A community may be willing to open itself to one or two individuals they see as outsiders while refusing to embrace the group as a whole. One example is the offensive caricatures on the minstrel and advertising broadsides posted in the area and collected by Henry Sheldon. It is possible to include while excluding at the same time. Louise may have found a community for herself, but she in fact goes on to establish a safe space for young Black students from Middlebury College who were not welcome on campus. She thus creates a community within a community.”