Retro Baltimore: Photos of African-American life in the 20th century

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Charles Thompson, a second-grader, was the only black child in a class of 40 pupils at Public School No. 27 in Baltimore on Sept. 11, 1954, when schools became integrated in the city. Here, he enjoys some ice cream. (Richard Stacks / Baltimore Sun files )

Until the early 1980s, African-American life was underrepresented in the media, and The Baltimore Sun was no exception. Images of black Baltimoreans in everyday life — and even during historic events —  are hard to find in our archives. We took a deep dive through photos dating to the 1930s to shed some light on black life in Baltimore during the mid-20th century.