The Butterfly Boy, and 50 years of other brilliant Brooklynites – in pictures

After witnessing the second world war’s brutality as a GI, Harlem-born photographer Jerome Liebling returned to New York and captured the humanity of the city’s chaotic streets. He found courage in the faces of children: ‘Sometimes there was a hint of defeat,’ he said, ‘but more often there was brilliance.’ One child, Butterfly Boy, with his overcoat flaring like a superhero’s cape, became a poignant billboard icon.