Black: A Celebration of a Culture [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Deborah Willis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2003

A celebration of African-American culture, vividly captured in more than 500 stunning photographs.

Black, A Celebration of a Culture, presents the vibrant panorama of 20th-century black culture in America and around the world in more than 500 photographs from the turn of the last century to the present day. Each photograph, hand-picked by Deborah Willis, America's leading historian of African-American photography, celebrates the world of music, art, fashion, sports, family, worship or play. From Saturday night parties to Sunday morning worship, Jessie Owens to Barry Bonds, Ella Fitzgerald to Halle Berry, Black: A Celebration of a Culture is joyous and inspiring.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A]n exhilarating collection of black & white photographs in this handsome oversize (10.25x11.25") volume that celebrates Black culture." -- Reference & Research Book News, November 2005

About the Author

Deborah Willis is Professor of Photography & Imaging at New York University. and a recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" award in 2000 for her services to archiving African-American photography. In 2002 she won the Exposure Group's award for Lifetime Achievement in Photography.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the leading African-American historians, is an eloquent commentator and formidable intellectual voice on multicultural and African-American issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hylas Publishing; illustrated edition edition (December 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592580513
• ISBN-13: 978-1592580514
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #988,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!, June 26, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black: A Celebration of a Culture (Hardcover)

Deborah Willis is a leading historian of African-American photography
and is the Professor of Photography & Imaging at New York
University's Tisch School of the Arts. In BLACK: A CELEBRATION OF A
CULTURE, she has compiled over 500 photographs vividly displaying
African-Americans in all areas of life to include: fashion, sports,
worship, with family, and more. It is a wonderful collection that
showcases the beauty, success, and the societal place African-
Americans have carved for themselves in a country in which we weren't
really invited.

Not only does it show the images that we're familiar with in the
history of our race, but it also shows those common moments of
everyday things validating the famous saying, "pictures are worth a
thousand words." It is a reflection of our lives and one of the most
rewarding ways of recording ones memories. There's something to
represent everyone and everything of our past and present: from
little boys playing sports, to little girls in Sunday dresses and
jumping rope and further back in times of civil rights
demonstrations, in the cotton fields, and back to the present
spotlighting weekends hanging out with the family.

There's nothing missing in this brilliant and beautiful collector's
item. The rich culture displayed in this book is one that should be
shared by everyone and one that each of us should mimic in our own
families, through our photo albums, scrapbooks, or other honorary
spots we've made for archiving our bloodline. It is "one story--our
story--told through photographic imagery."

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, September 19, 2005

By 

Yvonne C. Burney (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black: A Celebration of a Culture (Hardcover)

This was a wonderful book very excellent condition, I loved the book and the the author is awesome............