Joey Snapz

 Joe Conzo, Jr. aka Joey Snapz

A beautiful story. Sending love to the Conzo family. Learning of how Conzo's negatives stayed safe speaks to a mother's love. Thankful for what Conzo's mother did so that we could appreciate the creative eye of a true soul survivor during the earliest days of Hip Hop. Check The New Yorker story below by Hua Hsu. Peace Joe Conzo, Jr., respect.

The Photographer Who Captured the Birth of Hip Hop click here

You can find Joey Snapz incredible work and story on both Twitter & Instagram. #Follow.

Muhammad Ali Magnum

 Muhammad Ali Magnum Photographers

Currently reading a collection of photos by Magnum Photos or what the editorial at Amazon states is a photographic cooperative "founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, David Seymour, and George Rodger. The Magnum Photo Library is said to house about one million images. Click on the image to learn more about the text.

Raymond Boyd

 "Raymond Boyd is truly a photographer, with a gift for telling visual stories and bringing you closer to the moments that matter. And it all began with a young man, on the South Side of Chicago, and his 110 camera." Black Archives presents: Stories Untold The Raymond Boyd Collection click here

View the entire Raymond Boyd Collection click here

Black History, White House

Black History, White House

The cover photograph was taken during an Easter egg roll by Frances Benjamin Johnston in 1898. The Library of Congress states that she was "one of the first American women to achieve prominence as a photographer." You can learn more about Johnston at the collection available at the Library of Congress click here.

Just finished reading the text The Black History of The White House by Dr. Lusane. Only wish I'd known of this text prior to visiting Washington, DC. Thought about connections to Dr. Dyson's book titled Black Presidency: Barack Obama & the Politics of Race in America. Another text I couldn't put down. The 2008 election was my first real moment as a voter where I got to notice more about a lot of what's discussed in this text. It was crazy seeing how deep race got int people's head once Obama stepped foot on that stage. Changes how I see Pete Souza's Intimate Portrait photo book too. Souza's text almost feels like a companion text to the last chapter of Dr. Lusane's book.  

Here's a quote from the closing chapter of the book, "Whether Obama turns out to be one of America's greatest presidents or something less, his tenure will nevertheless represent one nexus where Black politics and American politics meet. At this writing, they both live and lead from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Given the confluence of circumstances he faced in winning the White House, along with unknown events to come, it certainly will not be an uneventful presidency." - Dr. Lusane, The Black History of The White House Chapter 9, 'The Latest Political Milestone: The Obamas in the White House'