Heroes of Hell Hole Swamp: Photographs of South Carolina Midwives by Hansel Mieth and W. Eugene Smith

Two mid-century Life photo essays reveal the power of editorial selection to lie—or reveal truth. This article appears in the Summer 2011 issue of Southern Cultures: The Photography Issue. “Mieth and Smith shared a belief that photography could bring social change. They viewed Pat Clark and Maude Callen as heroic healers whose stories would inspire racial understanding. Both photographers shot pow...