Photostory

Photography by Anthony Barboza

Playwright/poet/novelist NTOZAKE SHANGE (which means “she who comes with her own things” and “she who walks like a lion” in the Zulu language) was born Paulette Williams in Trenton, NJ, in 1948. She is best known for her Obie Award-winning play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

LOVE LETTERS

From Cornel West’s scholarly pursuits to Alice Walker’s portrayals of African-American women, some of the greatest minds putting words on paper today do so out of a need to communicate what it is (and was) to be black in America. These writers continue to expand a strong literary heritage, their pens sharpened like swords in the fires of prejudice, injustice and oppression.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple (1982), ALICE WALKER is known for portraying the African-American woman’s life and struggles. The writer and activist also worked to recover and publicize the nearly lost works of writer Zora Neale Hurston.

Author of 29 books, WALTER MOSLEY has written in a variety of genres, including two mystery series (Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones), science fiction and nonfiction. His book Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)— the first in the Easy Rawlins series—was made into a film starring Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals.

One of the best-known black writers of his generation, ISHMAEL REED published his first novel, The Free-Lance Pallbearers, in 1967. A controversial novelist/essayist/poet who consistently highlights domestic political and cultural oppression, Reed has published more than a dozen books. He recently retired from teaching at the University of California, Berkeley.

Born Elaine Potter Richardson in 1949 on the island of Antigua, JAMAICA KINCAID changed her name to separate her past from her life as a writer. Her writing style is deceptively simple, and she’s carved a niche for herself in the American literary landscape through works like A Small Place (1988), a nonfiction book about Antigua.

CORNEL WEST, a scholar of religion, philosophy and African-American studies, is well known for his book Race Matters (1993), which sold 400,000 copies and influenced the national dialogue on race. He is currently a professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University, where he earned a PhD in philosophy in 1980.

IN HIS WORDS:
Anthony Barboza

Did your service in the Navy impact your career choice as a photographer?

“I was draft ed in the Army during the Vietnam War. I felt that I would rather be on board a ship instead of in the jungle, so I ran to the Navy, and they took me in for three years. In my second year of service, I was stationed at Pensacola, where I worked for The Gosport (a newspaper on the naval base). As a staff photographer, I was able to perfect my craft and experiment with different ideas.”

What was your breakthrough moment as an African-American photographer?

“There have been many instances where getting the job was important… working for Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, LIFE Magazine, New York Times: Sunday Magazine, Essence and Newsweek. The important step in creativity was winning a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1980.”

What subject stands out in your career?

“Shooting portraits of James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Gordon Parks, James Van Der Zee, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Walter Mosley and many others. But the most memorable was: One night I was watching a music video of ‘Hello’ by Lionel Ritchie. Aft er viewing it, I said to myself (about the actress), ‘I’m going to marry her.’ Two months later, I found out the actress’ name was Laura Carrington, when she came to my studio to show her portfolio, looking for work. I decided to book her for a shoot in Antigua. We fell in love and were married three months later.”