Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers: 1840 to the Present

By Deborah Willis

The first comprehensive history of Black photographers, Reflections in Black returns in this groundbreaking, magnificently produced pictorial collection of African American life. 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. A work so significant that it has the power to reconfigure our conception of American history, Reflections in Black is an essential part of our heritage.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1324091797
• ISBN13: 9781324091790
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
• Length: 400 Pages