Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life

by Renata Cherlise

A photographic celebration and exploration of Black identity and experience through the twentieth century from the founder and curator of the hit multimedia platform Black Archives.

“Browsing the book ultimately feels like looking through one immense family photo album. And that’s intentional.”— Essence

Renata Cherlise’s family loved capturing their lives in photographs and home movies, sparking her love of archival photography. Following in her family’s footsteps, Cherlise established Black Archives, which presents a nuanced representation of Black people across time living vibrant, ordinary lives. Through the platform, many have discovered and shared images of themselves and their loved ones experiencing daily life, forming multidimensional portraits of people, places, and the Black community. These photographs not only tell captivating stories, they hold space for collective memory and kinship. 
 
Black Archives is a stunning collection of timeless images that tell powerful, joyful stories of everyday life and shed light on Black culture’s dynamic, enduring influence through the generations. The images showcase reunions, nights out on the town, parents and children, church and school functions, holidays, big life events, family vacations, moments at home, and many more occasions of leisure, excitement, reflection, and pride.
 
Featuring more than three hundred images that spotlight the iconic and the candid, Black Archives offers a nuanced compendium of Black memory and imagination.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, History, Art, Coffee Table Books, African American, Race

288 pages, Hardcover

Published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love collections of photographs, the older the better. This was a great collection.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a lovely distillation of the website. The author uses personal family photos to show how she groups the photos. There's a lot of her family's photos.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed Renata Cherlise since 2018 and am happy I picked this up. I’ve been reading a few pages at the end of my work day for the past several months and it’s been a really lovely experience

[Michael Charles Yett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring

I have lived around people of difference most of my life. As a human who is referred to as white I have been married to humans who are referred to as black. These photos and stories related by the author only scratch the surface of the beauty within the black human experience and culture.

The author has truly inspired me with her story and visual experiences.

A must read for all humans.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing Black Americans in their family lives, through the 20th century. From black-and-white to color, formal portraits, snapshots, Polaroids, to digital cameras.
Chapters are:
INTRODUCTION
PART I: The Foundation: keepers of stories (handwritten stories; pictures within pictures; life between life, in black and white; things we leave behind).
PART II: Interiors: holding space and keeping time (sounds of Blackness; holding joy, love, and tenderness; family and studio portraits; youth; family gatherings; spirituality; moments of rest and leisure).
PART III: Exteriors: to be witnessed (style; landscape and outdoors; the front porch; in uniform; poses with care; a good time.)
The author began with her own family, and many photos and text showcase them. Other photos she found through research and asking. Each photo has whatever information was available: who the people are, where and when the photo was taken, if known.

[♡︎desireads♡︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Where do I even begin?! I love books like these because of how important they are to archival history and how wonderfully they capture slice of life. This was a time machine, in fact, it felt like I was looking through a family photo book. Faces I’ve never seen, yet warmly felt familiar. A black experience.

Texts like these should complement our history curriculums. This collection is a photographic exploration of the black diaspora beyond what textbooks tell us our history is/was. Our folks before us were living life quite beautifully. I enjoyed the many photos of black life from the early 1900s, and how each section referenced photographs we would personally be familiar with (ie. gatherings, posing with cars, parties, school, etc.). 10/10 and a perfect coffee table book!

We must archive our memories, existence, love and life!! 📸

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful tribute to family, friends, and Black joy via photography! The various themes were thoughtful, and each photo was so evocative.
I am a similar age to the author's mother and was especially delighted to see cars similar to those my various family members drove and clothes that once hung in my closet.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So often we are inundated with negative images of African Americans (AA); this book takes us into the homes of AA families and we discover a simple yet profound lesson: we all share so many things in common, more things in common that 'we' are lead to believe. Birthday parties, fishing, Christmas, military service, funerals - it is all here - if we just will see it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally delightful. Loved the categories of “front steps,” “night out,” and “people in front of their cars.“

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite instagram page in physical form