April 11, 2013

Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare: Photography and the African American Freedom Struggle

Leigh Raiford

4:30 PM
Porter Hall 100 Gregg Hall

Leigh Raiford: Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare: Photography and the African American Freedom Struggle

In Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare, Leigh Raiford argues that over the past one hundred years activists in the black freedom struggle have used photographic imagery both to gain political recognition and to develop a different visual vocabulary about black lives. Raiford analyzes why activists chose photography over other media, explores the doubts some individuals had about the strategies, and shows how photography became an increasingly effective, if complex, tool in representing black political interests. Raiford is Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. She received her BA from Wesleyan University in 1994 and her PhD from Yale University's joint program in African American Studies and American Studies in 2003.