![]() |
| Dorothea Lange |
An Interview with the Migrant Mother
From the website: The woman behind the icon was named Florence Thompson. In 1936, Florence was a refugee in her own country. Displaced from her home in Oklahoma in the early 1930s, Florence and her family were travelling from one small California farming town to another, looking for work. From Modesto to Salinas to Bakersfield to Fireball, California -- or wherever the next harvest was ready -- they loaded their tent into their Model T Ford and moved on.
History - The Migrant Madonna, An Unwilling Icon Finds Vindication in Scotts Valley by Phil Reader
From the website: Florence felt a shock and betrayal that would remain with her for the rest of her life. She came to hate the photographs, which she believed had done an injustice and marked her as a simple "Okie." However, they had another effect entirely on the Nipomo encampment. The story was picked up by the UPI; within days the federal government supplied the workers with 20,000 pounds of food. Medical supplies and treatment were also made available, as well as jobs.
MigrantGrandson, Grandson of the Migrant Mother
From the website: Hi my name is Roger Sprague, I'm the grandson of Florence (Owens) Thompson otherwise known as the Migrant Mother. It is my intent to use this website as a link to help people gain information on and about my Grandmother, Florence (Owens) Thompson, the person in the Dorthea Lange photograph "Migrant Mother". To help people to research on and about her, her children, and the people of the Great Depression Era.
More Lange
