NPR's Book of the Day

Episode: Deborah Willis on her seminal history of Black photography, reissued 25 years later
Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Michelle Martin (interview), Andrew Limbong (intro/outro)
Guest: Dr. Deborah Willis

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the reissue of Deborah Willis's foundational work, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present. Originally published in 2000, this edition arrives 25 years later with 130 new images and a renewed relevance in the digital age of photography. Willis, a MacArthur Genius Award-winning author, photographer, and NYU professor, discusses her lifelong mission to recover and celebrate the history of Black photographers—voices and images long omitted from standard histories—and explores how new generations can learn from this visual archive.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins of Willis’s Interest in Photography (02:59–04:34)

• Growing up surrounded by imagery:

  • Willis shares how her Philadelphia childhood, in her mother’s beauty shop decorated with magazines like Ebony, Jet, Tan, alongside mainstream publications, sparked her fascination with images and representation.
  • She describes her father as "a serious amateur" photographer and a tailor, influences that entwined visual storytelling, fashion, and Black identity.

• Quote:

  “My mom had, as I used to call it, the black color wheel of magazines... I was always looking at images as a child.” – Deborah Willis (02:59)

2. The Research that Changed Photographic History (03:34–04:56)

• Undergraduate beginnings:

  • The book began as a college research project, driven by the absence of Black photographers in academic resources.
  • Willis scoured city and Black directories, using the notation “colored photographers” to locate individuals for her undergraduate paper—discovering and cataloguing works housed in major libraries.

• Publishing the seminal book:

  • A pivotal moment came when publisher Richard Newman encouraged Willis to expand her research into a book, assembling images and biographies left out of public knowledge.

• Quote:

  “There were no black photographers in the history books. I said, where are the black photographers?” – Deborah Willis (03:39)

3. The Power and Politics of Black Representation (04:56–07:23)

• Historical agency through the camera:

  • Willis and Martin discuss Frederick Douglass, one of the most photographed men of his era.
  • Douglass used photography “as biography,” understanding the need for dignified, humanizing self-images to counter the media’s degradation of Black people.

• The importance of positive images:

  • African American magazines like Ebony and Tan showcased Black success, luxury, and "the beauty of Black life," refusing to be defined by narratives of oppression alone.

• Quote:

  “Photography was biography. [Douglass] was really concerned about the images of black people that degraded black people... making sure that they were human and seeing that.” – Deborah Willis (05:14)

4. Documenting Painful Truths and Lost Archives (06:07–07:04)

• Confronting painful images:

  • Willis discusses seeing photographs such as the iconic image of an enslaved man’s scarred back—the importance of bearing witness to “the evidence of a lived experience and a horrific lived experience.”
  • She reveals how essential archives, like W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1900 Paris Exposition exhibition, were sometimes deemed lost or invisible, only to be rediscovered decades later thanks to Black archivists.

• Quote:

  “I was able to have access to those images after being told they didn’t exist. They didn’t exist because they weren’t processed.” – Deborah Willis (06:41)

5. The New Edition: Reframing Narratives (07:34–07:55)

• Rethinking Black visual histories:

  • For the revised edition, Willis sought to “retell the story” by adding new images and perspectives—aligning with poet Amiri Baraka’s notion that “the imagination gives us possibilities.”

• Quote:

  “How do I retell the story? How do we reinvent it, creating new narratives about their lives or imagine narratives? Like Amiri Baraka says, the imagination gives us possibilities.” – Deborah Willis (07:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Michelle Obama’s photograph in the Bronx:

  “The hug... the embrace. And I find that just fascinating. Her eyes are closed, so you feel the sense of connection, the way she’s holding on to this older veteran.” – Deborah Willis (02:14)

• On the American flag’s repetition:

  “It is because they’re asking questions about... believing in their citizenship and their rights.” – Deborah Willis (02:52)

• On the importance of celebratory Black images:

  “It was important that photographers were there to document not only the activism, but also... the beauty of black life.” – Deborah Willis (07:23)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:15 – Introduction to Deborah Willis and her role at NYU
• 02:14 – Discussion of the Michelle Obama photograph and recurring themes
• 02:59 – Willis’s childhood influences and early exposure to Black imagery
• 03:39 – The book’s origin as an undergrad research project
• 04:37 – The transition from research to published volume
• 05:14 – Frederick Douglass’s understanding of photography’s power
• 06:07 – Processing images of violence and lost archives
• 07:23 – The importance of images showing joy, success, and beauty
• 07:37 – Willis on “reframing” for the new edition

Conclusion

The conversation with Deborah Willis serves as both a testament to her trailblazing documentation of Black photographers and a reminder of how images can tell overlooked, vital stories about identity, resistance, and celebration. With the reissue of Reflections in Black, Willis not only expands the historical archive but challenges all listeners (and viewers) to reconsider how photography shapes both our past and present.