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Photojournalist James W. Terry III captures black history through his camera lens
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A picture is worth a thousand words and one photographer knows how to capture the right shot.
Photojournalist, James W. Terry III, has been getting a snapshot of life in the Baton Rouge area for 4 decades.
"From Willie Harris, to S.W. Austin, to John Williams, they felt that our history was important enough to preserve in photographs, and that at some point people would see these photographs and they would want to know the stories behind them," says Terry.
You can see pictures of the first two black firefighters to go into the Baton Rouge Fire Department, James Brown in town, and Muhammed Ali at Southern University.
Terry has been telling stories with his pictures and has been taking extra care to preserve the stories from the African American community.
"The pictures help to act as an archive of ideas that we had in the past that we carry forward and that we kept going into the future," says Terry.
In the 40,000 pictures Terry has taken, collected, and published there are many stories.
One picture told the story of a fire station in Scotlandville.
"Scotlandville developed its own fire station and had 4 fire trucks. The gentleman with the hat on is Capt. Lufty Barnes. They named the new fire station in Scotlandville after him. When Lufty Barnes came along we only had the volunteer fire department," says Terry.
One of Terry's photos of the late Sadie Roberts Joseph was given to The Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
" We made sure to give a very nice picture of her. She was one of my favorite photographic subjects."
For James Terry, who you may not have noticed snapping your picture, it's all about passing the stories from one generation to the next.
Terry says, "I am keeping the legacy going that was that was passed on to me."
Click here to see more of Terry's work and books.
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