ALEXANDER, JIM, 1935 AUGUST 7-
Jim Alexander photographs, 1969-2008

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Source

Gift of and purchased from Jim Alexander in 2014. Additions were donated by and purchased from Alexander in 2016 and 2018.

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], Jim Alexander photographs, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Appraisal Note

Acquired by Curator of African American Collections, Pellom McDaniels III, as part of the Rose Library's holdings in African American culture and history.

Processing

Processed by Sarah Quigley, November 2014.

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Biographical Note

Jim Alexander was born on August 7, 1935 in Waldwick, New Jersey to David Alexander and Frances James Alexander. He served in the Navy from 1952-1956; during this time he obtained his first camera and apprenticed with the base photographer in Charleston, South Carolina. It was not until 1964 when Alexander began his professional career as a freelance photographer in Ridgewood, New Jersey. In 1967, he received a certificate in business management from Rutgers University and in 1968, he earned a degree in commercial photography from the New York Institute of Photography. That same year, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Alexander began a project he calls Spirits/Martyrs/Heroes, an examination of the impact of African Americans on politics, art, and culture. He has continued to add to this project for more than forty years.

In the 1970s, Alexander worked for the Yale University School of Art and Architecture's Black Environmental Study Team; established the Freedom Arts Communications Team (FACT), a black artists' collective in New Haven, Connecticut; and eventually joined the Atlanta (Georgia) Office of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. In 1977, he became photographer in residence at the Atlanta Neighborhood Arts Center and was photographer in residence at Clark College from 1984-1990. Alexander was the first artist chosen by the city of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs as an "Atlanta Master Artist," and was given the "Artist of Distinction" award by the Paul Jones Family Fund in 2004.

Alexander is a member of the Atlanta Photography Group, Black Artists in America, National Alliance of Artists from HBCUs, and African Americans for the Arts. His photographs have been featured in numerous exhibitions and can be found in the holdings of institutions such as the Smithsonian (Washington, D.C.); The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (Atlanta, Georgia); the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa); the University of Delaware (Newark); the City of Atlanta, Fulton County, Atlanta Airport Collection (Georgia); the Hammonds House Museum (Atlanta, Georgia), and the Harvey B. Gantt Center (Charlotte, North Carolina).

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of photographs taken by Jim Alexander from 1969-2008, including images of prominent African American politicians, athletes, activists, authors, and artists. The collection contains photographs of Romare Bearden, Pearl Cleage, Angela Davis, Michael Lomax, Edwin Moses, Andrew Young, and Jean Childs Young, among others. The photographs also document significant events such as African Liberation Day in Washington, D.C. (1970s); the March for Sisterhood and Brotherhood in Forsyth County, Georgia (1987); a march in support of the Wilmington 10 (1976); a 1969 anti-apartheid rally; and a march in support of school desegregation in Boston, Massachusetts (1974). Many of the photographs were taken at the Atlanta Neighborhood Arts Center.

Arrangement Note

Arranged in alphabetical order.