People of Plains, Ga. is an intimate portrait of President Jimmy Carter’s hometown, seen through the camera of Steven Borns and told in the words of the people who live there.
Borns, a New York-based freelance photographer who grew up in Florida, first went to Plains in 1976 to cover Carter’s Presidential campaign. The town affected him, and he returned to create this sensitive study of a slowly evolving rural community at the crossroads of the Old and the New South.
In 25 interviews with white and black townspeople, Borns conveys their humanity, trust, and warmth as they talk about their love for the land, their belief in God, racial relations, and neighborly responsibilities.
We’re grateful to Steven for permission to reprint these photographs. Copies of People of Plains, Ga., which was published in 1978 by McGraw-Hill, are available from the author. Send $7.95 plus $1.25 for packaging and postage to Steven Borns, Box 311, Old Chelsea Station, New York, N.Y. 10113. On all orders, $2.00 will be contributed to THE SUN.
— Ed.
The photographs from this selection are available as a PDF only. Click here to download.
All Photographs Copyright Steven Borns
