This portfolio of eighty-three photographs constitutes a stunning celebration of African American achievement in the twentieth century. Carl Van Vechten, a longtime patron of black writers and artists such as Richard Wright and Billie Holiday, took these photographs over the course of three decades.

This portfolio of eighty-three photographs provides a stunning celebration of African American achievement in the twentieth century. Carl Van Vechten took these photographs over the course of three decades. Included are images of such luminaries as W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Joe Louis, and James Baldwin.