Januário Garcia Jr. hailed from Minas Gerais, a Brazilian state renowned for its significant population of Afrodescendentes, or Black Brazilians. Born on November 16, 1943, into a modest family residing on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, the state capital, Garcia embarked on a journey to … Read MoreJanuário Garcia Jr (1943-2021)
Moneta Sleet, Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer involved in the Civil Rights movement, was born on February 14, 1926. His parents, Ozetta Allensworth Sleet and Moneta Sleet, Sr., raised him in Owensboro, Kentucky. At a very young age, his parents gave him a small box camera, which he used to … Read MoreMoneta Sleet, Jr. (1926-1996)
Frank Ocean is a singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and photographer. He was born Christopher Edwin Breaux on October 28, 1987 in Long Beach, California. His parents, Calvin Edward Cooksey and Katonya Breaux, moved the family to New Orleans, Louisiana when he was five years old. His father left the family … Read MoreFrank Ocean (Christopher “Lonny” Francis William Ocean) (1987- )
Ernest Cole was the first black photojournalist in South Africa. In the 1960s he became one of the first photojournalists to report on the lives of black people in that nation under apartheid, exposing the mistreatment and racism from which they (and he) suffered, as well as exploring the intimacy … Read MoreErnest Cole (1941-1990)
“Image Ownership: The Estate of Ernest C. Withers” Ernest Withers, a highly accomplished photographer, was born on August 7, 1922, in Memphis, Tennessee to parents Arthur Withers, a mailman and Pearl Withers, a school teacher, both from Marshall County, Mississippi. Mr. Withers’ collection, which spans … Read MoreErnest Withers (1922-2007)
“Image Ownership: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times” Leo Antony “Tony” Gleaton was an African American photographer, scholar, and artist who is best known for his photographic images capturing and documenting the African influence in the American West and Central and South America. Gleaton, the youngest son … Read MoreTony Gleaton (1948-2015)
Addison Scurlock, photographer, was born to attorney George Clay Scurlock and wife Nannie in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 19, 1883. In 1900, his family moved to Washington, D.C. where in 1900, 17-year-old Scurlock began an apprenticeship under Moses P. Rice, a prominent white photographer … Read MoreAddison Scurlock (1883-1964)
Calvin Littlejohn was an African American photographer in Fort Worth, Texas, who documented the Black community for more than forty years between the 1940s and the early 1990s. Through his photographs, he celebrated the richness and complexity of Black culture in segregated Fort Worth. Calvin … Read MoreCalvin Littlejohn (1909-1993)
Charles H. “Teenie” Harris, a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Hill District, was best known for his photographs taken during his four-decade-long career at the Pittsburgh Courier. Harris was born July 2, 1908, to Ella Mae and William Harris, the youngest of three brothers. His … Read MoreCharles H. Harris (“Teenie”) (1908-1998)
Zanele Muholi is one of the most prominent lesbian activists in South Africa and a world-renowned, award-winning photographer. She is a trailblazer with her images of black lesbians in candid yet intimate poses. She challenges the manner in which black women’s bodies have heretofore been … Read MoreZanele Muholi (1972-)
