Clayton, Al, 1934-

Photographer Al Clayton of Atlanta, Ga., was trained as a medical photographer and photojournalist. In the 1960s, he traveled through the Mississippi Delta, eastern Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama, documenting poor people's lives. In July 1967, his photographs were presented at a hearing on Capitol Hill, where they helped spur senators to call for increased funding for anti-poverty programs. These images were collected in Robert Coles's "Still Hungry in America" (1969). Clayton has also contributed images to books by John Egerton and others as well as publishing humorous books, chiefly relating to food.

From the description of Al Clayton photographs, 1960s-1980s. WorldCat record id: 37798671

Photographer Al Clayton of Atlanta, Ga., was trained as a medical photographer and photojournalist. In the 1960s, he was asked by the Southern Regional Council help provide Congress with evidence of malnutrition among the poor in the American South. In summer 1967, Clayton traveled through the Mississippi Delta, eastern Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama, documenting poor people's lives. In July 1967, his photographs were presented at a hearing on Capitol Hill, where they helped to spur senators to call for increased funding for anti-poverty programs. Two years later, the photographs were collected in Robert Coles's Still Hungry in America (1969).

Clayton also contributed photographs to books by John Egerton's Southern Food: At Home, On the Road, In History (1987) and to humourous books, chiefly about food, including Critter Cuisine (1992) and Dreadful Delicacies (1993), both with Mary Ann Clayton, and The Quotable Hog: Root or Die (1994).

From the guide to the Al Clayton Photographs, 1960s-1980s, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)