In Pictures: Pioneering black photography collective Kamoinge
- Text by Adam White
- Photography by Schiffer Publishing

Named after the Kenyan Gikuyu word for “a group of people working together”, Kamoinge began as a rally against the tradition of black communities being photographed exclusively by white males. A collective was quickly born, with black photographers in 1960’s Harlem banding together to empower both themselves and those within their communities – telling their own stories, as opposed to having them told for them.
Kamoinge rapidly grew, no longer exclusively driven by New York photography, but expanding into suburban communities, the deep south of the USA, the deserts of Mali and Rwanda, and other areas where black faces and culture play defining roles.
Speaking to the New York Times in 2011, Kamoinge member Russell Frederick said, “What we’re documenting isn’t just black history. It’s American history; it’s global history. It’s something that everybody needs to see. It has been about dignity. It has been about our people. It’s about capturing what has been taking place within the community and a people misunderstood.”
Now a 384-page photo book has brought together many of the images taken by the collective since their inception. Timeless: Photographs by Kamoinge exposes an underrepresented and important touchstone within art history, as well as the complex, compelling and multi-faceted nature of wider black culture over the last fifty years.
Timeless: Photographs by Kamoinge is published by Schiffer Publishing, and is available from their website.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims
Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Written by: Hannah Bentley

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification
Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.
Written by: Isaac Muk

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture
Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South
Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.
Written by: Miss Rosen

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind
Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.
Written by: Emma Garland

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”
Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.
Written by: Katie Goh