Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits [Hardcover]

Deborah Willis (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2007

This stunning collection of photographic portraits traces US history through the lives of well-known abolitionists, artists, scientists, writers, statesman, entertainers, and sports figures. Drawing on the photographic collections of the National Portrait Gallery, author Deborah Willis explores how these images—many by famous photographers—reveal the nation's history through an African American lens and challenge us all to uphold America's highest ideals and promises. Let Your Motto Be Resistance is the inaugural publication of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Deborah Willis is Professor of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She is a fine art photographer, curator, and author of many books on African American photography. Her recent publications include Family, History, and Memory: Recording African American Life (2005) and A Small Nation of People: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Photographs from the Paris Exposition (2003). A 2005 Guggenheim Fellow and Fletcher Fellow, Willis is also a 2000 MacArthur Fellow and member of the Scholarly Advisory Committee of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: USMTH; 1 edition (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588342425
• ISBN-13: 978-1588342423
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 1.1 x 12.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Photography Collection Essential!, September 26, 2008

By 

Miss Witness "Rumi Brown" (Here) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits (Hardcover)

Let Your Motto Be Resistance is a Black photography collection essential! Another classic by Deborah Willis created for the inaugural exhibition of Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture. New photos, insightful essays, this book is very well done. I can't wait for the building to be constructed for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C. as a permanent house for our artifacts and history! My other favorites by Deborah Willis are The Black Female Body The Black Female Body: A Photographic History and Black: A Celebration of a Culture Black: A Celebration of a Culture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, February 12, 2011

By 

intellectual deprivation "reading sustains me" (Akron, Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits (Paperback)

I really don't have much more to say. This book is full of wonderful pictures of black Americans who have made a tremendous impact on society. It's just wonderful.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, February 11, 2009

By 

W. Brown "morefabulousfinds" (bowie, md United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits (Hardcover)

A wonderful collector's item. Great photos, insightful essays, this book is excellent and very well done. I went to the Smithsonian Museum when this collection of photographs was on display. I often review this book as it represents a walk through history.