One b/w negative of family seated on park bench outside. Group includes two small children on women’s laps, three women and one man.
Client Name: Handcox, John
Original Baynard index card reads “5645 / 1968 / Mr John Handcox / XXXX Clay Ave / XXX-XXXX / Taken in Park”
*Additional information provided by the community on 3/1/2011: This is an image of John Handcox and his family at their family reunion held at Presidio Park in San Diego, 1968. He was originally from Arkansas, but later moved to Tennessee and eventually to California. He and his 11 siblings were forced to drop out of school at an early age when their father was killed in an incident involving a mule cart. In spite of this, he became a poet and songwriter in addition to being a farmer. He was a sharecropper in Arkansas who was forced to flee the state after attempting to unionize the sharecroppers and other farmers in the area. With the advent of the union in 1930s, his life was threatened, and he changed his last name from Handcock to Handcox in an attempt to conceal his identity after his move. Charles Seeger, the father of Pete Seeger, submitted some of his songs and poetry to the Library of Congress where they were accepted. He is well known for writing the song ” We Gonna Roll the Union On” and many others. He wrote poetry under the pen name “John Henry” at times. He moved to San Diego in 1942 where he worked as a carpenter, a fisherman, and also opened Handcox Market. He was a socialist who believed in equality and fairness for all. **People in the image have been identified as: (L to R) Ruth Richardson (holding Sabrina Bishop), John Handcox, Vinnie Handcox (mother of John, holding baby Barry Covington Sharp), and Glenda Reynolds
