by Deborah Willis
is the first photographic history of black beauty. It tells a story overlooked by most of America, and promises to transform the way we think about the history of African American visual culture. Deborah Willis, whose much-celebrated Reflections in Black provided the first definitive history of black photographers, has now collected over two hundred photographs in duotone and full color that provide a lasting statement on beauty in the African American community. From posed studio portraits to dandies on parade to elegant debutantes, Willis has constructed a bold narrative of the ever-changing idea of beauty, both female and male, and shows how history books, newspapers, and mainstream magazines deliberately excluded black models until the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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