Guy Rochester Crowder (1940–2011) was an African-American photographer whose work appeared in many publications including the ''

Los Angeles Sentinel The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasted of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper ...

''. He was the first staff photographer for the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...

and the first African-American to work for that agency.

Early life

Born in 1940 in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, Crowder moved with his family to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1945. He graduated from high school in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

. and joined the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...

where he served from 1957 to 1963. Crowder also studied at

Los Angeles Harbor College Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) is a Public college, public community college in Wilmington, California. It is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay, Los Angeles, South Bay region of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. LAHC s ...

and

Los Angeles Trade–Technical College Los Angeles Trade–Technical College (L.A. Trade–Tech, LATTC) is a Public college, public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission f ...

Career

Crowder started his career as a freelance photographer taking pictures of community events, since he was unable to find a job with one of the mainstream newspapers in Los Angeles due to his race. He built up a successful business, and developed a reputation and connections with prominent community members and politicians including

Mervin Dymally Mervyn Malcolm Dymally (May 12, 1926 – October 7, 2012) was an American politician from California. A Democrat, he served in the California State Assembly (1963–1966) and the California State Senate (1967–1975), as the 41st lieutenant gover ...

Jesse Unruh Jesse Marvin Unruh (, ; September 30, 1922 – August 4, 1987), also known as Big Daddy Unruh, was an American politician who served as speaker of the California State Assembly and as the California State Treasurer. Early life and education Born ...

, and

Kenneth Hahn Kenneth Frederick Hahn (August 19, 1920 – October 12, 1997) was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter ...

. In 1974 he took a position with the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors as staff photographer, thus making him the first African-American to work for this government agency. Among the subjects of his photography over the years were

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-Ameri ...

, and

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

. ''Jet Magazine'' editor Aldore Collier said about Crowder, “His works vividly demonstrate the diversity, hope, sorrow and joy that is the Black community of Los Angeles.” At Crowder's funeral, ''

'' publisher

Danny Bakewell Danny Joseph Bakewell (born 1946) is an American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. He is the owner of The Bakewell Company, which includes among its holdings the ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' newspaper. He has been Chairman of the National Newspap ...

stated that "Guy Crowder will be remembered as being one of the most talented and phenomenal Black photojournalists of our time. Not only will he be missed for his work, but for being an extraordinary person and the legacy he leaves with this city.”

Personal life

Crowder was married to his wife Patricia for 51 years, and had one child, Reginald Crowder.

Exhibitions

* ''Camera and Community: A Celebration by Guy R. Crowder''(1993).

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

. * ''Black Life: Images of Resistance and Resilience in Southern California'' (2019). The

San Diego Museum of Art The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine art museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. It opened as the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed ...

. August 24, 2019 – December 1, 2019.

Death and legacy

Crowder died of pneumonia and complications from a stroke on October 30, 2011, in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. His photographic archive, which includes over 400,000 images, is preserved by the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center in the

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

, Special Collections and Archives at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Guy African-American photographers 1940 births 2011 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people