Black by Deborah Willis

Black

A Celebration of a Culture

Deborah Willis

Skyhorse · Print & ebook · November 24, 2020

Over 500 glorious black-and-white photographs celebrating black culture throughout American history, from Jesse Owens to Barry Bonds, Ella Fitzgerald to Halle Berry.

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Who it’s for
Photographs trace Black culture through work, worship, music, and sport.
Themes
Black culture in America, African American photography, Cultural history
Genres
Black American Art, History of Photography, African American Studies

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For younger readers: Juneteenth Is, Juneteenth, Fros, Fades, and Braids

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About this book

Over 500 glorious black-and-white photographs celebrating black culture throughout American history, from Jesse Owens to Barry Bonds, Ella Fitzgerald to Halle Berry. Tucked away in the dusty halls of the Smithsonian archives and nearly forgotten by most historians, black culture is a vast, complex, interconnected web of different people, trends, and lifestyles.

Continue reading

Deborah Willis has dug through the archives and hunted down the remnants that tell the wonderful and tragic history of a people. Tackling all subjects with bravery and frankness, Deborah Willis’s work is a true treasure to behold. Black: A Celebration of a Culture, which would be a perfect complement to any Juneteenth celebration, presents a vibrant panorama of twentieth-century black culture in America and around the world. Broken up into segments that examine in detail such subjects as children, work, art, beauty, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, the photos detail the history and the evolution of a culture. Each photograph, handpicked by Deborah Willis, America’s leading historian of African American photography, celebrates the world of music, art, fashion, sports, family, worship, or play. With five hundred photographs from every time period from the birth of photography to the birth of hip-hop, this book is a truly joyous exhibition of black culture. From Jessie Owens to Barry Bonds, Ella Fitzgerald to Halle Berry, Black: A Celebration of a Culture is joyous and inspiring.

Black Life in Photographs

Photographs trace Black culture through work, worship, music, and sport.

Come here for

  • Sections examining children
  • Photographs of family

Expect

  • A panorama of twentieth-century Black culture in America and around the world
  • Photographs spanning the birth of photography to the birth of hip-hop

Where it sits

African American Studies41%
History of Photography38%
Black American Art36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Black American Art
  • Black History
  • Lifestyle Photography
  • Race & Discrimination
Authors
Deborah Willis
Publisher
Skyhorse
Published
November 24, 2020
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Black culture in America · African American photography · Cultural history
Reading lane
Black American Art