Songs of my people
Encyclopedia
Songs of My People was a book, exhibition and multimedia project created and edited by organizers Eric Easter, Dudley M. Brooks and D. Michael Cheers. The book was published in February 1992 by Little, Brown, with an introduction by famed African American photographer Gordon Parks
.
The project was named after an essay by Paul Robeson
. It was launched in January 1990 as an attempt to record African American
life through the eyes of 50 prominent African American photographers. It was defined as an effort to deliver balanced images of African Americans in response to what the organizers perceived as frequently negative portrayals of the community. During the first week of June 1990, project photographers were flown across the United States
to capture various aspects of African American life. From 190,000 photographs taken for the project, 200 were selected for the book.
Of the project's photographs, 150 formed the basis of a highly attended international photo exhibition that opened in February 1992 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C.
The exhibition traveled to the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia between April and May 1992. For a show at the California Afro-American Museum beginning in May 1992, eight photographs by D Stevens
and others related to the Los Angeles riots of 1992 were added.
The major tour and a second, smaller "paper" tour of 60 selected photographs was sponsored by Time Warner
and shown at major museums and galleries including the Museum of the City of New York
, the DuSable Museum
in Chicago
, and the Uffizi
in Italy
, among others. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) oversaw the international tour.
Notable contributing photographers included Pulitzer Prize
winners Michel duCille
, Mathew Lewis, Ozier Muhammad
, John H. White, and Keith Williams. Among the other photographers involved in the project were Howard Bingham
, New York Times photographer Chester Higgins, Jr.
, Magnum
member Eli Reed, Bob Black, Jeffrey Salter, and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe. The African-American people who appeared in the project's photographs included Zina Garrison
, Quincy Jones, Jacob Lawrence
, Thurgood Marshall
, Gordon Parks, Colin L. Powell, Willy T. Ribbs
, and Louis Wade Sullivan
.
Film rights to a documentary based on the project were optioned by producer Quincy Jones
, but the film was never produced. After the 1992-1994 tour, D. Michael Cheers donated the photographs to the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri
.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Archives houses the Songs of My People exhibition archive, 1990-1994. The archive includes approximately one-thousand working photoprints, including all images from the publication and the exhibitions. There are also extensive photographs and contact sheets created in the course of the project. Photographic subjects include Colin Powell, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Roy DeCarava, Muhammad Ali, Jessie Jackson, Jacob Lawerence, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Quincy Jones, Cleo Fields, Thurgood Marshall, Atallah Shabazz, David Dinkins, Marion Barry, George Clinton and Willie T. Ribbs. Many other photographs capture life as lived by ordinary African Americans.
Gordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
.
The project was named after an essay by Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
. It was launched in January 1990 as an attempt to record African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
life through the eyes of 50 prominent African American photographers. It was defined as an effort to deliver balanced images of African Americans in response to what the organizers perceived as frequently negative portrayals of the community. During the first week of June 1990, project photographers were flown across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to capture various aspects of African American life. From 190,000 photographs taken for the project, 200 were selected for the book.
Of the project's photographs, 150 formed the basis of a highly attended international photo exhibition that opened in February 1992 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The exhibition traveled to the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia between April and May 1992. For a show at the California Afro-American Museum beginning in May 1992, eight photographs by D Stevens
D Stevens
D Stevens is an American broadcast journalist, photojournalist, photographer and filmmaker.-Career:In early 1970, as Public Affairs Director KPFK-FM, Stevens won a Golden Mike award for exposing conditions at California's Soledad Prison and the cause of the "Soledad Brothers" including George...
and others related to the Los Angeles riots of 1992 were added.
The major tour and a second, smaller "paper" tour of 60 selected photographs was sponsored by Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
and shown at major museums and galleries including the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
, the DuSable Museum
DuSable Museum
The DuSable Museum of African American History is the first and oldest museum dedicated to the study and conservation of African American history, culture, and art. It was founded in 1961 by Dr. Margaret Taylor-Burroughs , her husband Charles Burroughs, Gerard Lew, and others. Dr...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, among others. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) oversaw the international tour.
Notable contributing photographers included Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winners Michel duCille
Michel duCille
Michel duCille is an American photojournalist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He shared his first Pulitzer in the 1986 Spot News Photography category with fellow Miami Herald staff photographer Carol Guzy for their coverage of the November 1985 eruption of Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano...
, Mathew Lewis, Ozier Muhammad
Ozier Muhammad
Ozier Muhammad is a photojournalist who has been on the staff of The New York Times since 1992. He has also worked for Ebony Magazine, The Charlotte Observer, and Newsday. He earned a B.A...
, John H. White, and Keith Williams. Among the other photographers involved in the project were Howard Bingham
Howard Bingham
Howard Bingham Howard Bingham Howard Bingham (born Jackson, Mississippi, 1939 is the biographer of Muhammad Ali and a professional photographer.He was the son of a minister and Pullman porter for the US railroad. After initially failing a photography course, he was hired by a local newspaper and...
, New York Times photographer Chester Higgins, Jr.
Chester Higgins, Jr.
Chester Higgins, Jr. is an American photographer.Higgins has worked as a New York Times photographer since 1975 and has exhibited in museums throughout the world...
, Magnum
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
member Eli Reed, Bob Black, Jeffrey Salter, and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe. The African-American people who appeared in the project's photographs included Zina Garrison
Zina Garrison
Zina Lynna Garrison is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During her career, she was a women's singles runner-up at Wimbledon in 1990, a three-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, and a women's doubles gold medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games.-Career:An African-American...
, Quincy Jones, Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was an American painter; he was married to fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", though by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem.Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth...
, Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, Gordon Parks, Colin L. Powell, Willy T. Ribbs
Willy T. Ribbs
William "Willy" Theodore Ribbs, Jr. is a racecar driver who competed in many forms of auto racing. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association....
, and Louis Wade Sullivan
Louis Wade Sullivan
Louis Wade Sullivan is an American physician and businessman. He served as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George H. W. Bush and founded the Morehouse School of Medicine....
.
Film rights to a documentary based on the project were optioned by producer Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, but the film was never produced. After the 1992-1994 tour, D. Michael Cheers donated the photographs to the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Archives houses the Songs of My People exhibition archive, 1990-1994. The archive includes approximately one-thousand working photoprints, including all images from the publication and the exhibitions. There are also extensive photographs and contact sheets created in the course of the project. Photographic subjects include Colin Powell, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Roy DeCarava, Muhammad Ali, Jessie Jackson, Jacob Lawerence, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Quincy Jones, Cleo Fields, Thurgood Marshall, Atallah Shabazz, David Dinkins, Marion Barry, George Clinton and Willie T. Ribbs. Many other photographs capture life as lived by ordinary African Americans.