Kevin Carter (13 September 1960 – 27 July 1994) was a South African

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

and member of the

Bang-Bang Club The Bang-Bang Club was a group of four conflict photographers, Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and João Silva, active within the townships of South Africa between 1990 and 1994 during the transition from the apartheid system t ...

. He was the recipient in 1994 of a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for his photograph depicting the 1993 famine in Sudan; he died by suicide less than four months afterwards, at the age of 33. His story is depicted in the book ''The Bang-Bang Club'', written by

Greg Marinovich Greg Marinovich (born Gregory Sebastian Marinovich, 8 December 1962) is Pulitzer-awardedSouth African photojournalist, filmmaker, photo editor, and member of the Bang-Bang Club. He co-authored the book '' The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hi ...

and João Silva and published in 2000.

Early life

Kevin Carter was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and grew up in a middle-class neighbourhood. As a child, he occasionally saw police raids to arrest black people who were illegally living in the area. He said later that he questioned how his parents, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, "liberal" family, could be what he described as "lackadaisical" about fighting against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. After high school, Carter dropped out of his studies to become a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

and was drafted into the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. To escape from the infantry, he enlisted in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

in which he served four years. In 1980, he witnessed a black mess-hall waiter being insulted. Carter defended the man, resulting in him being badly beaten by the other servicemen. He then went

absent without leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...

, attempting to start a new life as a radio disc-jockey named "David". This, however, proved more difficult than he had anticipated. Soon after, he decided to serve out the rest of his required military service. After witnessing the Church Street bombing in Pretoria in 1983, he decided to become a news photographer and journalist.

Early work

After completing his military service, in 1983 Carter returned to Johannesburg and took a job in a photographic supply store. This is how he met local photojournalists and received his first commission. He partnered with the ''Johannesburg Sunday Express'' and became a weekend sports photographer. He took photos at Saturday and Sunday matches. In 1984, he moved on to work for the ''

Johannesburg Star ''The Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Gauteng, South Africa that was established in 1887. The paper is distributed mainly in Gauteng and other provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, and Free State. ''The Star'' is one of the ...

'', exposing the brutality of apartheid. Carter was the first to photograph a public "

necklacing Necklacing is a method of extrajudicial summary execution and torture carried out by forcing a rubber tire drenched with gasoline around a victim's chest and arms, and setting it on fire. The term "necklace" originated in the 1980s in black t ...

" execution by black Africans in South Africa in the mid-1980s. Carter later spoke of the images: "I was appalled at what they were doing. But then people started talking about those pictures... then I felt that maybe my actions hadn't been at all bad. Being a witness to something this horrible wasn't necessarily such a bad thing to do."

In Sudan

In March 1993, Robert Hadley of the UN

Operation Lifeline Sudan Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) was a consortium of United Nations agencies (mainly UNICEF and the World Food Programme)João Silva the opportunity to travel to Sudan and report about the famine in South Sudan embedding with the rebels in that area's civil war. Silva told Carter, who felt it was an opportunity to expand his freelance career and use work as a way to address personal problems. Operation Lifeline Sudan had been having funding difficulties, and the UN believed that publicising the area's famine and needs would help aid organisations sustain funding. Silva and Carter were apolitical and desiring only to photograph. After flying to

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the two found out that new fighting in Sudan would force them to wait in that city indefinitely. During this time, Carter made a day trip with the UN to

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

in the south Sudan to photograph a barge with food aid for the region. Soon afterwards, the UN received permission from a rebel group to fly food aid to

Ayod Ayod is a town in Jonglei, South Sudan, headquarters of Ayod County. The Nuer people are the main inhabitants. Riek Machar, first vice-president of South Sudan, is the 26th son of the chief of both Ayod and Leer. A study of the village in Decem ...

. Hadley invited Silva and Carter to fly there with him. Once in Ayod, Silva and Carter separated to shoot photos of famine victims, discussing between themselves the shocking situations they were witnessing. Silva found rebel soldiers who could take him to someone in authority. Carter joined him. One of the soldiers, who did not speak English, was interested in Carter's wristwatch. Carter gave him the cheap watch as a gift. The soldiers served as their bodyguards.

Pulitzer Prize photograph in Sudan

Carter shot an image of a child who appeared to be a little girl, fallen to the ground from hunger, while a vulture lurked on the ground nearby. He told Silva he was shocked by the situation he had just photographed, and had chased the vulture away. A few minutes later, Carter and Silva boarded a small UN plane and left Ayod for

Kongor Kongor is a community in the Kongor Payam of the Twic East County of Jonglei State, in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. Twic east is in Dinka territory. The village is to the east of the White Nile and about north of Bor. The area ...

. Sold to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the photograph first appeared on 26 March 1993, and syndicated worldwide. Hundreds of people contacted the newspaper to ask the fate of the girl. The paper said that according to Carter, "she recovered enough to resume her trek after the vulture was chased away" but that it was unknown whether she reached the UN food center. In April 1994, the photograph won the

Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography is one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, poc ...

. In 2011, the child's father revealed the child was actually a boy, Kong Nyong, and had been taken care of by the UN food aid station. Nyong had died four years prior, c. 2007, of "fevers", according to his family. The photo, and its associated moral and political implications, have appeared in sociological academic journals.

Other work

In March 1994, Carter took a photograph of the three

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging The (, meaning 'Afrikaner Resistance Movement'), commonly known by its abbreviation AWB (), is an Afrikaner nationalism, Afrikaner nationalist, white supremacist, and Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi political party in South Africa. Founded in 1973 by Eug ...

members being shot during their abortive invasion of

Bophuthatswana Bophuthatswana (, ), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (; ), and colloquially referred to as the Bop and by outsiders as Jigsawland (In reference to its enclave-ridden borders) was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland", an area set asid ...

just before the South African election. Carter ran out of film halfway through the incident. Eamonn McCabe of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said: "It was a picture that made nearly every front page in the world, the one real photograph of the whole campaign."

Death

Three and a half months after being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, Carter died of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

on 27 July 1994 at the age of 33.

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, wrote of Carter, "And we know a little about the cost of being traumatized that drove some to suicide, that, yes, these people were human beings operating under the most demanding of conditions." Carter's suicide note read: The final line is a reference to his recently deceased colleague

Ken Oosterbroek Ken Oosterbroek (14 February 1962 – 18 April 1994) was a South African photojournalist and member of the Bang-Bang Club. He worked for '' The Star'' in Johannesburg, which was South Africa's biggest daily broadsheet. He won numerous photograp ...

In popular culture

The 1996 song "

Kevin Carter Kevin Carter (13 September 1960 – 27 July 1994) was a South African photojournalism, photojournalist and member of the Bang-Bang Club. He was the recipient in 1994 of a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, Pulitzer Prize for the vulture a ...

" by rock band

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

, from their fourth album '' Everything Must Go'', was inspired by Carter's life and suicide. The lyrics were written by

Richey Edwards Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...

shortly before his own disappearance. A main character in the book ''

House of Leaves ''House of Leaves'' is the debut novel by American author Mark Z. Danielewski, published in March 2000 by Pantheon Books. A bestseller, it has been translated into a number of languages, and is followed by a companion piece, '' The Whalestoe ...

'', Will Navidson, is a photojournalist who is tormented by guilt over winning a Pulitzer Prize for a photo of a starving Sudanese girl but not helping her. In Footnote 336 it is mentioned that this is "clearly based on Kevin Carter's ..photograph". The 2001 album ''

Poets and Madmen ''Poets and Madmen'' is the 11th studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 2001. It was their last album before their 12-year hiatus, which lasted from 2002 to 2014. The album has a loose concept inspired by the career and ...

'', by American heavy metal band

Savatage Savatage () is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album '' Sirens'' (1983), they changed t ...

, is inspired by the life and death of Carter.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the girl in Sudan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Kevin 1960 births 1994 deaths Roman Catholic anti-apartheid activists White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists South African people of British descent South African photojournalists Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography winners War photographers South African Roman Catholics South African photographers Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in South Africa Bang-Bang Club 1994 suicides Expatriate photographers in Sudan 20th-century South African photographers Male suicides