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. … Read MoreCharles H. Harris (“Teenie”) (1908-1998)
Ellis (Eli) Reed is a professor, author, and photographer. He is the first African American selected as a full member into the Magnum Photos agency, the elite international photojournalist collective. Having been published in close to 30 magazines, Reed is best known for his three … Read MoreEllis Reed (Eli) (1946- )
Peter Magubane was a South African photojournalist best known for his photos that exposed that nation’s Apartheid injustice and humanitarian crisis to the west. He was born outside Johannesburg, in Vrededorp, on January, 18, 1932, and grew up in Sophiatown. Magubane started his photographic career … Read MorePeter Sexford Magubane (1932-2024)
James Conway Farley, the first African American to achieve prominence in the photography industry, was born on August 10, 1854 to slave parents in Prince Edwards County, Virginia. After his father died, he and his mother moved to Richmond in 1861. The sources are unclear … Read MoreJames Conway Farley (1854- 1910?)
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge, actor and comedian, was born in New York City in 1933. His father Alexander Cambridge and his mother Sarah Cambridge were born in British Guiana. They moved to Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada and then Harlem, New York. Before emigrating, his father worked … Read MoreGodfrey Cambridge (1933-1976)
In an era when both movies and audiences were segregated, Lorenzo Tucker became African America’s leading man. Tucker was born in Philadelphia in 1907 to parents John and Virginia Lee Tucker. Lorenzo Tucker studied photography in trade school and briefly attended Temple University, where he … Read MoreLorenzo Tucker (1907-1986)
