Picture This: Camilo J. Vergara’s Photographs of African American Communities in America’s Cities

Camilo J. Vergara’s Photographs of African American Communities in America’s Cities
By Melissa Lindberg

My images throughout time give glimpses into poverty, segregation, and perseverance in cities throughout America during the past half century. They are part of an evolving historical record, contributing stories of resilience and pride …

Camilo J. Vergara has been photographing low-income, racially segregated neighborhoods in American cities since the 1970s. Earlier this year, the Library of Congress published a guide focusing on Vergara’s photographs that document African American communities, including neighborhoods in Chicago, New York City, and New Jersey as seen below.

Vergara’s work has taken him everywhere people go, from places of worship to city streets to homes.

Lily of the Valley Spiritual Church, singing ” I really like my God. I do, I do, I do,” 48th Place, at S. Princeton Ave., Chicago, 2002. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/2Yjy7qI

Frederick Douglass at W. 125th St., Harlem, 2008. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/3hjFWFF

View west along Fern St. from #937 and N. 10th St., Camden, 1997. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/3hh32g9

Vergara’s time lapse photos reveal what has changed — or in some cases hasn’t — over time in a particular location. The collections include nearly a dozen images of Vyse Ave. at East 178th St. in the South Bronx, pictured below, taken years apart. Prints & Photographs Division photo curator Adam Silvia, who assembled the guide, says of the time lapse photos: “They demonstrate Vergara’s longstanding commitment to African American communities in cities across the United States.”

Vyse Ave. at East 178th St., South Bronx, N. Y, June 1980. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/2UzLceC

Vyse Ave. at East 178th St., South Bronx, N Y, January 1986. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/3cRmZqA

Vyse Ave. at 178th St., South Bronx, May 1991. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/2Ys7lNa

Vyse Ave. at East 178th St., South Bronx, 2013. Photo by Camilo J. Vergara, used by permission. https://ift.tt/3hqfIl9

The guide includes many other images, of street art (many honoring African American leaders), of everyday people and reflections of particularly difficult circumstances. More than a thousand images by Vergara are available for viewing online, and the Library continues to collect and make these images available as Vergara continues to add to the historical record in real time.

Learn More:

• View the guide: African American Communities in America’s Cities: Photographs by Camilo J. Vergara
• Read more about Vergara’s time lapse series of photographs.
• Browse images by Camilo J. Vergara in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.
• See the rights statement for photographs made by Camilo J. Vergara in the collections of the Library of Congress.