Jacob Holdt
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Jacob Holdt (born 1947 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish photographer and author. Arriving in America in the 1970's, he spent several years hitchhiking across the country. He stayed in over 400 homes, most of them belonging to impovershed minorities, and took thousands of photographs. His photos seek to demonstrate the daily struggle of the American underclass and capture the emotions they experience. He will often juxtapose a poor or homeless person with symbols of "white oppression" or "white power."
The photographs were published in a book, American Pictures ISBN 87-981702-0-1, and are also available on Holdt's website. He also prepared a slideshow, which he has shown at over 300 college campuses across the United States.[1] [2]
Since 1991, Holdt has worked as a volunteer for CARE in several third-world countries. He has continued to document the lives of those in poverty while working for CARE. His most recent projects have also focused on white supremacist hate groups. Holdt spent time living with leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and photographing their daily lives.
