Doris Ulmann, a graduate of the Clarence White School, began a photographic project in the Gullah coastal region of South Carolina, capturing the lives of former slaves and their descendants. The book, featuring 90 hand-pulled photogravures, and an essay by Julia Peterkin was celebrated as one of the finest photogravure-illustrated books of the twentieth century. Ulmann's photographs radiate warmth and affection, enhanced by her delicate use of natural light and a soft-focus lens. Her deep admiration for the Gullah people’s simplicity and strength in the face of hardship is evident in her work, which skillfully blends elements of the pictorialist style with modernist principles like tonal contrast, form, and unmanipulated prints.

Roll Jordan Roll represents the culmination of Ulmann’s extensive engagement with the Gullah community, who are descendants of enslaved Africans living in the coastal regions of the southeastern U.S. These people continue to preserve their African cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage. The photographs were taken at the Lang Syne Plantation in South Carolina, where Julia Peterkin lived. While Peterkin’s essay provides context, Ulmann’s images stand on their own, offering a visual narrative independent of the text.