In 1942, Lange was commissioned by the WRA to photograph internees' journeys to The Manzanar Relocation Center and their lives upon arrival, which she was eager to do despite being opposed to the effort. She believed "A true record of the evacuation would be valuable in the future." (Impounded)
EARLY CAREER
"Migrant Mother." Click to enlarge. (Library of Congress)
Lange is considered by many to be America's greatest documentary photographer, and is best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration. One of Lange's most famous photographs is "Migrant Mother", which she called, "the assignment I never forgot" (Lange, Oral History)
"Dorothea Lange Sitting on Top of Car Taking Photograph." Click to enlarge. ("Impounded")
“(Her photographs are credited with) revealing the true cost of the disaster on human lives and shocked the U.S. government into providing relief for the millions of other families devastated by the Depression." (Hyperallergic)
MANZANAR
Dorothea Lange photographing evacuation. Click to enlarge. (National Archives)
“...and my mother, visible there in the background, was hired by the United States government to document the Japanese evacuation. That event was a national dishonor. History has confirmed that the internment of those Americans in bleak, forbidding centers was caused by hatred, hysteria and greed. My mother burned with outrage." - Daniel Dixon, son of Dorothea Lange (Personal Interview)
In her photographs, Lange chose to expose the harsh realities and injustices experienced by internees just as she had chosen a similar perspective for her Depression-era photographs.