Dr. Willis leitet die Abteilung für Fotografie und Bildgebung an der Tisch School of the Arts der New York University. Seine Expertise befasst sich mit den künstlerischen und theoretischen Dimensionen der visuellen Kultur.
Featuring over 500 stunning black-and-white photographs, this collection honors the rich tapestry of black culture in American history. It captures iconic figures like Jesse Owens, Ella Fitzgerald, Barry Bonds, and Halle Berry, showcasing their contributions and the impact of their legacies. The book serves as a powerful visual narrative that celebrates the achievements and resilience of the black community across various fields, making it a significant tribute to cultural heritage.
Tyler Mitchell explores the concept of a black utopia through his work as a photographer and filmmaker. Gaining recognition after photographing Beyoncé for Vogue in 2018, he challenges the dominant perspectives of the white majority and aims to create an independent narrative for people of color.
In twelve intensely personal, interconnected essays, Emily Bernard sets out to tell stories from her life that enable her to talk about truth, race, family and relationships, and much more. She observes the complexities and paradoxes, the haunting memories and ambushing realities of growing up black in the South with a family name inherited from a white man, of getting a PhD from Yale, of marrying a white man from the North, of adopting two babies from Ethiopia, of teaching at a white college and living in America's New England today. Ultimately, she shows us that it is in our shared experience of humanity that we find connection, happiness and hope
This stunning collection features stoic portraits and intimate ephemera from the lives of Black Civil War soldiers. Initially excluded from both Union and Confederate armies, many African American men ultimately served. The era also marked the rise of photography, making the Civil War the first extensively documented conflict through this medium. The author explores photography's vital role in reshaping African American narratives of the war, drawing from a largely unacknowledged visual archive. With over seventy images, the collection includes a wealth of primary and archival materials, many rarely reproduced, accompanied by handwritten captions, letters, and personal documents. The work delves into the lives of black Union soldiers and highlights the stories of others involved, such as left-behind family members and female spies. This captivating memoir intertwines photographs and words to address themes of love, longing, responsibility, fear, commitment, patriotism, and African American resilience. The collection offers an intimate portrait of the African American experience from the Civil War's onset to 1900, emphasizing the significance of African American communities in the war's development. It illustrates how photography shaped a national vision of blackness and bondage while uncovering the hidden histories of these soldiers, prompting reflection on their struggles for citizenship and remembrance.
