Photo courtesy of Chinese American, Documentary Photography, Activism Young Kwok (Corky) Lee (1947-2021) Young Kwok “Corky” Lee jokingly referred to himself as the “Undisputed, Unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate.” In a career that spanned half a century, he indeed did do much to not only document the Asian American community but also helped shape it …
Photo courtesy of Porter’s wife, Joyce African American, Documentary Photography J. Nash Porter (1942-2007) J. Nash Porter was an award-winning documentary photographer of African American life in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the African Diaspora. J. Nash Porter was born and raised in New Orleans in an uptown neighborhood. After completing high school, he joined the …
Julius Lester speaks after receiving his Samuel Minot Jones Award for Local Literary Achievement. Photo courtesy of Jones Library, Amherst, MA African American, Literature, Children’s Folklore, Media, Documentary photography Julius Lester (1939-2018) Julius Lester was a dynamic writer whose career spanned multiple genres over several decades. He is especially acclaimed for his works about African …
Self-portrait by Robert McNeill African American, Documentary Photography, Federal Writers’ Project Robert H. McNeill (1917-2005) Robert H. McNeill was a renowned photographer of Black life and culture from the 1930s through the 1970s. Born in 1917 in Washington, DC, to Dr. William C. McNeill, a physician and medical educator and Mary A. McNeill, a DC …
Photo by Gordon Parks African American, Documentary Photography, Film, Music Gordon Parks (1912-2006) Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born the youngest of fifteen children in Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1912. His parents, Andrew Jackson Parks and Sarah Ross Parks, made a modest living through farming. After his mother’s death, Parks left home at age …