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Jim Alexander in his studio at The Neighborhood Arts Center Atlanta, GA 1978

Jim Alexander (born August 7, 1935) is an American documentary photographer, photojournalist, activist, and teacher who is best known for being a “Participant Observer” and his photographs of human rights and black culture. In 1995, he was the first artist selected in the annual “Master Artist” program conducted by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. He would later be inducted into The HistoryMakers in 2006.

Early life

Alexander was born on August 7, 1935, in Waldwick, NJ as one of 13 children to auto mechanic David Alexander, and Frances James Alexander. He attended Waldwick Public School and Ramsey High School.  He grew up during a time where the opportunities for Blacks in America to economically advance were few.

Career

Photography

Beginnings

In 1952, Alexander joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. During his time in Naval boot camp at United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, one event would help shape the course of his entire life; Alexander won his first camera, a Kodak "Brownie Hawkeye" in a friendly dice game. Immediately putting his new camera to use, Alexander sold photographs to the other sailors for fifty cents each.

Once he finished boot camp, he was transferred to a naval base in Charleston, S.C. to begin training as a diesel engine-man. While in Charleston he asked the naval base photographer to look over some of his work, and he began teaching him about 35mm and large format photography. After leaving the Navy in 1956, Alexander put photography on hold for several years. He managed a pool hall and detailed cars. He lived above the pool hall, which was called a rooming house. The rooms were rented for $9 a week. That room and tiny bed became Alexander's home during what he called his "street time."

In 1964 he moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey from Paterson where he lived following his discharge and launched his professional career as a freelance photographer. Alexander completed courses for a certificate in business organization and management at Rutgers University, while he worked as general manager of a newspaper delivery service. He also enrolled at New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) and earned a degree in commercial photography in 1968.

Being at the height of the human rights movement, Alexander started documenting local and national responses to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination in 1968.  His photographs included: marches, rallies, conferences, meetings, festivals, concerts, and Black life as a whole. He entitled the body of work Spirits/Martyrs/Heroes. The collection ranges from the 1960s to the present. It encompasses a variety of subjects from the human and civil rights movement, politics, music, art, and everyday individuals who were consistent in their pursuit of equality.

On a bus trip from Ridgewood, New Jersey to New York, Alexander met Eric Maristany.  They both were traveling with cameras, so conversation between the two sparked. Maristany worked at a filmstrip company in Ridgewood and invited Alexander to visit the studio. After visiting the studio a few days later, he was able to meet the staff and owner who produced the educational filmstrips on the civil rights movement. He then volunteered at the studio for several days. After gaining the respectability of a documentary photographer, Alexander got hired at Bruner Productions in 1968 to shoot filmstrips of the civil rights movement until 1970.

Music Icons

Alexander is also known for his document of Black inspired music, prominently jazz and blues. When he photographed different events, he realized that the event would open with a musical selection. He started to appreciate the influence music had on the African American community, and it revealed the importance of musicians. "I am just a lover of music. There was a lot going on in the '40s and '50s, and I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, where all the little clubs or corner bars had a trio or quartet playing. I was really listening to the music." He then decided he would incorporate black music in his work. In 1988, Alexander curated his own exhibit entitled Blues Legacy for the first National Blacks Arts Festival.

He curated the Duke and Other Legends: Jazz Photographs by Jim Alexander that same year. The exhibit featured 50 classical jazz musicians that toured 13 southern cities through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Southern Arts Federation. The resilience and creativity of African American culture captivates the world whether it is through music, art or the written word. Jazz music is just one example of the beauty birthed by African Americans in spite of the hatred and marginalization that was designed to break their spirits.  Alexander juxtaposed images of the ugly barriers created by hatred as well as the elegant strength of those who dare to shatter them. He has spent years documenting jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Elle Fitzgerald, and Count Basie just to name a few.

Friend & Mentor Gordon Parks

Jim Alexander with Gordon Parks Clark College, Atlanta, GA 1988

Alexander met and became friends with documentary photographer Gordon Parks in 1968. Parks was influential in the direction of his photographic career. "A photo can be taken to build, or it can be taken to destroy, and that decision rests within the hands of the photographer." Alexander recognized how his photographs could affect the awareness of the subject and the viewer.

Moved to dedicate ten years of his life and work to documenting human rights and the Black experience; he shared this intention with Parks. Parks said, “that sounds good James, but your ass is going to starve, nobody is going to pay you to just run around shooting anything that interests you.” So Alexander decided to teach others the art of photography while shooting documentary work on the side. Parks approved his decision and told him, “That sounds better." Fifty plus years have surpassed since having that conversation with the late Gordon Parks, and Alexander continues to document the struggle amongst Black lives.

Alexander believes that each photo contains burrows that message deep into the viewer’s conscious. His photos has the aesthetic of a participant observer. As described by Alexander, "a participant observer acknowledges the undeniable influence of his mere presence, while pleading allegiance to the role of the spectator." Alexander’s images call attention to gross violations of human rights in the United States over the course of many decades.

Educator

Alexander has mentored and taught photography at various colleges and universities such as Yale University, Emory University, Fulton County Arts Council, TRIO and Upward Bound Programs at Clark College, Morris Brown College, and Atlanta Metropolitan College.

In 1970, Alexander was hired as a consultant and photography instructor for Yale University’s School of Art and Architecture’s Black Environmental Studies Team (B.E.S.T) and The Black Workshop. He also served as executive director of a community arts organization from 1972 to 1976.

At Clark College (better known as Clark Atlanta University), Alexander served as Photographer-in-Residence from 1984-1990. During his time at Clark Atlanta, Alexander established a mentoring program where he helped students who worked with the campus newspaper, yearbook, and various types of photography. He also documented the consolidation meetings and events up until the historic ribbon cutting for the AC/CC CAU merger.

The Neighborhood Arts Center (NAC) originated in 1975 and became the heart of Atlanta's Black Arts Movement. The center was constructed in the image of Atlanta's first African American Mayor, Maynard Jackson. In 1977, Alexander became the photographer in residence at The NAC.  He was proactive in maintaining the historical values The NAC instituted. Alexander was able to document Romare Bearden, a legendary artist, and author.

Atlanta became home to Alexander and his family in 1976 after he accepted a position as the director of audiovisual communications for the Atlanta Office of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. This was a non-profit established to save, protect, and expand the landholdings of Black family farmers in the south.

As a strong believer in “art for people’s sake,” Alexander established an organization called, Freedom Arts Communications Team (F.A.C.T.) in 1972. F.A.C.T. was a collective of artists; musicians, visual artists, poets, media professionals, community advocates, theater group members and mentors. By launching a community arts festival, working with schools, the Police Athletic League and community development offices, they created a visiting artist program to serve youth and adults in the New Haven, CT area. From 1996 - 1999, Alexander was a coordinator and instructor of the youth photography program called “As Seen by Teens” photography and journalism program. As Seen by Teens was a summer photojournalism program designed to give young students a better sense of themselves and their communities. Implemented by Nexus Contemporary Art Center, the program encouraged creativity while it challenged students to learn and show self-respect, achieve goals, and gain a marketable skill.

First World Bookstore

The love for education, reading, and black culture led Alexander to be a co-founder of First World Bookstores in Atlanta, GA during 1988. The store specialized in predominately African American books, gifts, and art; which eventually expanded to five bookstores in the metropolitan area until 1994.

Jim-Alex Studio Gallery

While in New Haven, CT Alexander opened a photo studio, Jim-Alex Studio Gallery in 197. He exhibited the works of other photographers as well as his own. The studio became a meeting place and hub for artists and activists of all kinds. Community meetings were frequently held there and The Connecticut Black Media Coalition was established at his studio. Alexander jokes, “Everything happened in my studio but photography.”

Organizations

Alexander established several organizations of professional photographers, including the Photographers’ Collective, the Atlanta Photographers Group, and Zone Three. He is a founding member and past executive vice chairman of the National Black Media Coalition and completed two terms as president of African Americans for the Arts, (AAFTA).