Reframing History Through Lens and Legacy: A visual dialogue between Bernie Boston and the Ramsey-Lemon Archive

This exhibition explores and highlights the Ramsey-Lemon Family Archive as an example of Black life in response to historical events in the 20th century as depicted by photographs from Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist and RIT Alumni Bernie Boston. To be Black in America is a political statement – not a deliberate choice, but a statement nonetheless. Historically, photography has been used by the Black community to create their own representation to combat media-pushed stereotypes that detrimentally affect the community.

Growing up, one of the most important pieces of wisdom passed down is the importance of education. Material things such as clothes, money, and housing can easily be stripped away, but the knowledge you possess is something that will stay with you forever. Understanding your history, where your people come from, and the obstacles they face is an irreplaceable power. The family albums from which these photos were chosen are personal recorded history used to fill in the gaps left by the standard accounts used in schools.

With support from RIT Archives and access to the Bernie Boston collection, photographs selected from Bernie Boston’s tenure as a White House Press Photographer helped set the scene. Boston’s documented events act as historical pillars for the Ramsey-Lemon Archive to fill in-between moments. Through his work, Bernie Boston was tasked with the immense challenge and privilege of capturing history in real time from an unbiased, if not almost removed perspective. Although he had no choice in assignments, his creative autonomy shines through in how his photos are framed. This exhibition serves to enlighten and inspire others to dig deep into their own familial history and to inspire revelations that might combat preconceived notions about what it means to be Black American. - Athena Lemon