By Jackie Hampton,
Publisher,
Photo By Jackie Hampton
The Mississippi Museum of Art, (MMA) 380 S. Lamar Street in Jackson, MS opened its’ landmark exhibit on Saturday, July 25, 2026, presenting “Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985.” The exhibit will run through November 8, 2026.
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the exhibit is the final stop on a national tour which explores how American and Afro-Atlantic diaspora photographers and artists used photography to develop and foster a distinct Black visual culture and identity during the mid-20th century. It examines the role in which these photographers played during the Black Arts Movement, which paralleled the American civil rights and international freedom movements, and highlights strategies for community engagement and self-representation.
The exhibition includes photographic pieces of one hundred photographers, many of which are no longer with us; it comprises approximately 150 works, spanning photography, video, collage, painting, installation, and other lens-based media, some of which have rarely or never been on public view.
Roy Lewis is an American photographer was in Jackson for the opening of the exhibit, which opened one day after his eighty-ninth birthday. He sat down with The Mississippi Link for an interview on his birthday expressing how pleased he was to be a part of this traveling exhibit.
He said, “One of the greatest rewards and highest recognition of praise is for anyone to have their work featured in a museum.”
Lewis was born in Natchez, Mississippi on July 24, 1937. He grew up on a plantation, as his father toiled as a sharecropper. His mother died when he was young and was raised by his maternal grandparents. After graduating from high school in 1956, he relocated to Chicago and worked in the subscription department at Johnson Publishing Company. Soon afterward, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and while still enlisted he purchased his first camera – an old Kodak Brownie.
His early photo-journalistic career included working as a photographer for the Johnson Publishing Company. Lewis also created photographs of Chicago’s Wall of Respect which is one of the images displayed at the MMA exhibit.
In 1974 Lewis traveled to Zaire, Africa to video the Foreman vs. Ali, boxing match referred to as The Rumble in the Jungle. Some of his footage was included in the 1996 documentary film When We Were Kings.[4]
In 1995 his photos were included in the book The Million Man March published by Three Rivers Press.
Lewis, who resides in Hyattsville, MD, has served many years as a photographer for The Black Press of America. He takes pride in the many photographs he took of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Meredith, and other Civil Rights icons. He stated he was often invited by Margaret Walker Alexander to photograph events she hosted at Jackson State University. He stated “ As much as I enjoy taking pictures, I am not just taking photographs for myself, I am thinking about young people.
During the interview, Lewis received a call from Nic Lott, director of communications for the City of Jackson asking Lewis if he could come to Jackson City Hall and meet with Mayor John Horhn at 12:30 PM. Lewis was honored to have a sit-down conversation with Mayor Horhn in his office where they shared so much information which they had in common pertaining to the arts, and the civil rights movement. Mayor Horhn presented Lewis with a special proclamation.
After meeting with the mayor, Lewis attended an exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look at Film JXN Youth Summer Camp located at the Arts Center of MS where he spoke to students attending the two- week camp. City of Jackson first lady welcomed media and campers.
The Film JXN Youth Summer Camp is presented by the City of Jackson Film Office in partnership with 1245 Works, Inc. and United Way of the Capital Area.
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