Frank Johnston
Frank Johnston

Fellowship Title:

  • Faces of the 80s in America, a Nation in Transition

Faces of the 80s America, A Nation in Transition

Frank Johnston
August 11, 1983

Fellowship Year

  • 1983
Frank Williams collects donations for the "Temple of Lost Sheep" in New York City.
Frank Williams collects donations for the "Temple of Lost Sheep" in New York City.
Unemployed workers wait at Detroit unemployment office.
Unemployed workers wait at Detroit unemployment office.
Ray Lugo and daughter Christal at Unemployment Crisis Center in Flint, Mich.
Ray Lugo and daughter Christal at Unemployment Crisis Center in Flint, Mich.
Mitch Snyder protests "Reaganomics" across the street from the White House.
Mitch Snyder protests "Reaganomics" across the street from the White House.
Unemployed auto worker waits for check at unemployment office in Detroit.
Unemployed auto worker waits for check at unemployment office in Detroit.
Earl Brown, 5 1/2, gets free meal at the New Mt. Calvary Church food kitchen in Flint, Mich.
Earl Brown, 5 1/2, gets free meal at the New Mt. Calvary Church food kitchen in Flint, Mich.
Unemployed man with belongings across street from the State Department.
Unemployed man with belongings across street from the State Department.
Homeless man wanders past White House.
Homeless man wanders past White House.

Detroit

Detroit, America’s “Motor City,” has been forced to deal with the harsh realities of changing times. Bad times were evident in the faces of those hardest hit–the unemployed auto workers. In the long unemployment lines, the talk was of troubles at home: separations and divorces. One unemployed father confided that his wife had “split,” leaving him to raise their children, all under the age of four. Others routinely sell their blood plasma to the West Detroit Plasma Corp. (Johnston12.jpg) It was there that I met Harry Baker, who showed me his final paycheck from a company where he had worked for 27 years. Harry was sadly comparing his lost pay to the $10 he had just received for selling two pints of his plasma.  (Johnston13.jpg)

Sign in front of plant - Buy a Ford save a job
Sign says 300,000 Laid off UAW members. Don't like your import. Please park it in Tokyo.
Bad times were evident in the faces of those hardest hit–the unemployed auto workers
Others routinely sell their blood plasma to the West Detroit Plasma Corp
Johnson12.jpg
Harry was sadly comparing his lost pay to the $10 he had just received for selling two pints of his plasma
Johnson13.jpg

Ford Motor Company has installed robots, and I toured Ford’s Robotics Training Center, (Johnston9.jpg), which was enclosed in a massive, low level building where hard-working, practically noiseless machinery operated non-stop. Among those on the tour with me was a Japanese man who was shown how to manually move a robot (Johnston10.jpg). I also spent time photographing workers on an assembly line at a Ford plant in Michigan. One worker, who wore an American Eagle T-shirt, showed the kind of spirit that seemed to exist among his fellow workers. (Johnston11.jpg)  They were grateful to have their jobs. Retraining programs may be the answer for many unemployed workers in the future. In the meantime, those out of work express their anger and frustration in protest marches. (Johnston12.jpg)

Robot Training area
Johnston9.jpg
Among those on the tour with me was a Japanese man who was shown how to manually move a robot
Johnston10.jpg
I also spent time photographing workers on an assembly line at a Ford plant in Michigan. One worker, who wore an American Eagle T-shirt, showed the kind of spirit that seemed to exist among his fellow workers
Johnston11.jpg
Retraining programs may be the answer for many unemployed workers in the future. In the meantime, those out of work express their anger and frustration in protest marches.
Johnston12.jpg

Swartz Creek

I knew about the dioxin problems at Times Beach, Missouri and I was aware that the Environmental Protection Agency had a list of the 418 most dangerous toxic waste sites in the country, but when I actually picked up the government’s Superfund list of waste sites, I was struck by the size of this gigantic book. It seemed to symbolize the size of the toxic waste problem itself. The nation’s 16th worst toxic waste site is in Swartz Creek, Michigan, where the leaking Berlin & Farro chemical dump contaminated the residents’ drinking water. Last spring, Michigan authorities undertook a court-ordered evacuation of 54 families from homes within a half-mile radius of the dump site before cleanup crews moved in to remove highly contaminated soil and sludge from a lagoon there. There was a danger that the cleanup operation would cause clouds of poisonous fumes to be released from the lagoon. An estimated 20,000 drums containing various types of hazardous wastes, including cyanide and acids, were buried 10 feet below the lagoon. But the main health threat turned out to be emissions from C-56, a pesticide component which laced the lagoon wastes and threatened nearby residents if they were exposed.

State Police set up barricades around the dump site to keep looters and sightseers out of the area.

The residents had two days to pack and move to nearby motels, where some would live for nearly one month. During a meeting at the local township hall, (Johnson16.jpg), frustration and fear showed in their faces. Mrs. Verna Courtemanche, (Johnston17.jpg) held her evacuation notice and shouted, “This is the kind of run-around we’ve been getting for 10 years.” Mrs. Laura Wykes, 24, (Johnston19.jpg), the mother of three children, said her tap water smells like sulfur. She and her husband have lived in the community for five years. She said they considered drilling a new well, but were told by state officials not to bother.

State Police set up barricades around the dump site to keep looters and sightseers out of the area. Those people whose homes were not evacuated were startled by the sight of workers wearing respirators and special protective clothing (Johnston18.jpg). The workers looked more like moon walkers than a cleanup crew. Some 11,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sludge were excavated from the lagoon and trucked to Ohio for burial in a hazardous waste landfill there. More than 900 truckloads were needed to clean out the lagoon.

State officials estimated that the total cost of the cleanup may reach $10 million.

During a meeting at the local township hall, frustration and fear showed in their faces.
Johnson16.jpg
During a meeting at the local township hall, frustration and fear showed in their faces. Mrs. Verna Courtemanche held her evacuation notice and shouted, "This is the kind of run-around we’ve been getting for 10 years."
Johnson17.jpg
Those people whose homes were not evacuated were startled by the sight of workers wearing respirators and special protective clothing (see Johnston18.jpg). The workers looked more like moon walkers than a cleanup crew.
Johnson18.jpg
Mrs. Laura Wykes, 24, (see Johnston19.jpg), the mother of three children, said her tap water smells like sulfur. She and her husband have lived in the community for five years. She said they considered drilling a new well, but were told by state officials not to bother.
Johnson19.jpg

©1983 Frank Johnston

Frank Johnston, a photographer on leave from the Washington Post, is documenting the effects of social and economic changes on the American people.

  • © 1983
Frank Johnston
Frank Johnston

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  • Faces of the 80s in America, a Nation in Transition

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