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Now offering over 500 images from 1840 to the present, this breathtaking work provides rich, moving glimpses of everyday Black life, from slavery to the Great Migration to suburban life, including rare antebellum daguerreotypes, photojournalism of the civil rights era and multimedia portraits of middle-class families, along with a contemporary section depicting images of both joy and mourning, beauty and protest that have indelibly changed the world we know. Featuring the works of undisputed masters such as James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks and Carrie Mae Weems, this expanded edition now includes works from great twenty-first-century artists, including LaToya Ruby Frazier, Lorna Simpson and Phylicia Ghee. Reflections in Blackis work so significant that it has the power to reconfigure our conception of American history.
About the author
Deborah Willis—MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow—is a celebrated author, photographer, and NYU professor who lives in New York City.Robin D. G. Kelley wrote the foreword to both editions of Reflections in Black. He is the author of several books, including the prize-winning Thelonious Monk.Kalia Brooks is a Program Officer at Fundamental Philanthropy, where she stewards grantmaking for The Hearthland Foundation—an organization that champions justice, equity, and connection through the power of art and storytelling. With a background spanning arts, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership, Brooks supports artists and creative organizations working at the intersection of culture and social change. She leads strategy, manages diverse grant portfolios, and cultivates relationships across the visual arts ecosystem to amplify narratives that reimagine our shared democracy. Grounded in equity and driven by curiosity, Brooks brings a curator’s eye and a strategist’s mind to her work—valuing imagination, collaboration, and creative risk. Whether developing new funding pathways or convening artists and cultural leaders, she is committed to fostering a vibrant, inclusive arts landscape where visionary ideas can thrive, and communities can connect.
