One of the world’s greatest photographers passed on Tuesday, October 27, 2009: Roy De Carava. His contributions to the world of photography are insurmountable. He was a skilled practitioner of the medium, teacher and mentor, activist, and role model for countless photographers, particularly black photographers living and working in the United States and abroad.
If you are not familiar with Mr. De Carava’s work I encourage you to read The Sweet Flypaper of Life (1955), co-produced with Langston Hughes and work your way forward to the catalog representing his retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1996).
Several media outlets have written on Mr. De Carava’s passing:
Mr. De Carava was the first African-American photographer to receive a Guggenheim fellowship (1952). See his interview on Charlie Rose in 1996, the year he received the National Medal of Arts.
African Diaspora Photography 