LOS ANGELES, CA.- Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery presents the West Coast debut of “Ghosts of Segregation: Photographs by Rich Frishman,” a nationally recognized exhibition of more than 30 engrossing color photographs that reveal the lingering presence of racism made visible in our national landscape. The show opened on Saturday, Jan. 25, and runs through Saturday, March 29, 2025.

In ‘Ghosts of Segregation,” Frishman — a photographer and photojournalist by profession — uses his camera to uncover evidence of segregation, slavery, and institutional racism hidden in everyday American architecture. From the New Orleans Slave Exchange and “colored entrances” at movie theatres, to the abandoned Negro Nursing School in Houston and Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach, California, Frishman’s photographic series from 2018 to 2022 captures how our surroundings bear witness to history, reminding us of where we have been, where we are now, and crucially asking, “where do we go from here?”

According to Frishman, “the built environment is society’s autobiography writ large.” Seeking to spark an honest conversation about the legacy of racial injustice in America, “Ghosts of Segregation” explores vestiges of racism in places that have been repurposed or partially covered up: the curious extra side window at Pascagoula’s Edd’s Drive-In, the enigmatic barred door at Seattle’s Moore Theatre, or the quaint cabins dotting Idlewild, Michigan. The shock of Frishman’s pictures is how insidious evidence of segregation and historic racism can be. Jim Crow not only extended across America, it became part of everyday life in communities across the country.  

Implicit in this uniquely powerful project is the belief that together we have the capacity to rise above the deep-rooted ramifications of slavery, America’s “original sin.” Frishman’s photographs speak to the complex and difficult road toward social justice and equality in the United States and cast light on generations of painful inequality and social turmoil. The project arrives at a moment when our culture struggles to re-evaluate the dynamics of race and re-calibrate the prospects for improved race relations in America. 

The “Ghosts of Segregation” traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California.

Rich Frishman, born in 1951 and raised in Chicago, lives and works in the Seattle area. As a photojournalist he has contributed to publications including LIFE, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Microsoft, and Time. In 1983 he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. His photographs are held in prominent institutional collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Amon Carter Museum. Frishman has garnered dozens of prestigious awards, including a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2019 Curator’s Choice Award from Review Santa Fe, and the 2019 PhotoNOLA Portfolio Review Award, among many others. His ongoing project “Ghosts of Segregation” has been written about in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NPR, and BBC News. Frishman studied with photographic artists Reed Estabrook, Robbert Flick, and Art Sinsabaugh at the University of Illinois and lectures around the U.S. about the intersection of the designed environment, history, and social issues.