Photograph of Seba Johnson skiing at 1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup
date: label: Date
content: 1989
name: label: Photograph by
content: Margaret Chidlaw
label: Subject of
content: Seba Johnson, born 1973
notes: label: Caption
content: In 1988, at the age 14, Seba Johnson became the first African American alpine ski racer and the youngest Olympic skier, placing 28th out of 64 in the women’s Olympic Giant Slalom in Calgary, Canada. In 1989 she became the youngest Black skier in the World Cup Women’s downhill racing. Born in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Johnson skiied for the Virgin Islands national team in both the Olympics and the World Cup. She retired from the sport in 1992.
label: Description
content: A color photograph featuring Seba Johnson skiing downhill. She is crouched with ski poles held under her arms, with the ends pointed back and up. She wears a yellow Carrera helmet and a white ski suit that reads VIRGIN ISLANDS along the outer thigh. In the background are a number of blurred trees. The photograph is adhered to a window mat and cardboard backing. The mat has several stickers attached, two above and two below the window. The top reads [Steamboat®] in blue ink on white background with the second, right below, reading [FEBRUARY 1989] in black text on silver background. Beneath the window, the first sticker reads [WOMEN'S DOWNHILL] in black type with white background. A second sticker is adhered to the first and reads [World Cup] in blue type. Text printed directly on the mat, vertically along the entirety of the left side, reads [653 RD2O653 Printed in U.S.A. ©1988 IIC]. Two handwritten notes on the back of the photograph read [SEBA JOHNSON / WORLD CUP DOWNHILL / STEAMBOAT / SPRINGS, CO. / 25 FEB, 1989 / 15 1/2 YRS. / OLD / D.H. = 52 PLACE OUT OF 70 STARTERS / S.G. = 34 PLACE OUT OF 64 STARTERS] in black ink and [©M. Chidlaw / P.O. Box 880664 / Steamboat Plaza Co 80488] in red marker. A repeating watermark on back reads [THIS PAPER / MANUFACTURED / BY KODAK]. There are no marks on the back of the cardboard.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Steamboat Springs, Routt County, Colorado, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Athletes
label: Topic
content: Olympics
label: Topic
content: Sports
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Tools and Equipment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Seba Johnson and Suzy Johnson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.163.17.1
objectType: label: Type
content: chromogenic development prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: dye and photographic gelatin on paper (fiber product)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Image and sheet): 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Window mat and cardboard back): 9 15/16 × 13 in. (25.3 × 33 cm)