Photograph of Seba Johnson skiing at 1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup

Object Details

Photograph by

Margaret Chidlaw

Subject of

Seba Johnson, born 1973

Caption

In 1988, at the age 14, Seba Johnson became the first African American alpine ski racer and the youngest Olympic skier, placing 28th out of 64 in the women’s Olympic Giant Slalom in Calgary, Canada. In 1989 she became the youngest Black skier in the World Cup Women’s downhill racing. Born in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Johnson skiied for the Virgin Islands national team in both the Olympics and the World Cup. She retired from the sport in 1992.

Description

A color photograph featuring Seba Johnson skiing downhill. She is crouched with ski poles held under her arms, with the ends pointed back and up. She wears a yellow Carrera helmet and a white ski suit that reads VIRGIN ISLANDS along the outer thigh. In the background are a number of blurred trees. The photograph is adhered to a window mat and cardboard backing. The mat has several stickers attached, two above and two below the window. The top reads [Steamboat®] in blue ink on white background with the second, right below, reading [FEBRUARY 1989] in black text on silver background. Beneath the window, the first sticker reads [WOMEN'S DOWNHILL] in black type with white background. A second sticker is adhered to the first and reads [World Cup] in blue type. Text printed directly on the mat, vertically along the entirety of the left side, reads [653 RD2O653 Printed in U.S.A. ©1988 IIC]. Two handwritten notes on the back of the photograph read [SEBA JOHNSON / WORLD CUP DOWNHILL / STEAMBOAT / SPRINGS, CO. / 25 FEB, 1989 / 15 1/2 YRS. / OLD / D.H. = 52 PLACE OUT OF 70 STARTERS / S.G. = 34 PLACE OUT OF 64 STARTERS] in black ink and [©M. Chidlaw / P.O. Box 880664 / Steamboat Plaza Co 80488] in red marker. A repeating watermark on back reads [THIS PAPER / MANUFACTURED / BY KODAK]. There are no marks on the back of the cardboard.

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Seba Johnson and Suzy Johnson

1989

Object number

2011.163.17.1

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Type

chromogenic development prints

Medium

dye and photographic gelatin on paper (fiber product)

Dimensions

H x W (Image and sheet): 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)

H x W (Window mat and cardboard back): 9 15/16 × 13 in. (25.3 × 33 cm)

Place depicted

Steamboat Springs, Routt County, Colorado, United States, North and Central America

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Tools and Equipment

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic

African American

Athletes

Olympics

Sports

Record ID

nmaahc_2011.163.17.1

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd51616965a-efd9-4360-a626-fb27a4d73fb1