Roland Freeman facts for kids

Roland L. Freeman (born July 27, 1936 – died August 7, 2023) was an American photographer. He was known for documenting the traditional culture of the Southern United States. He also photographed many African-American artists who made quilts. Freeman was the head of The Group for Cultural Documentation, an organization in Washington, D.C.

Early Life and Inspiration

Roland Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was young, he found inspiration in the photos taken during the Great Depression. Photographers like Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava used their pictures to highlight social issues. He also admired the work of photographers from the Farm Security Administration.

At 14, Freeman met Zora Neale Hurston, a famous author and folklorist. She greatly influenced his future career.

Freeman served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1958. He started taking pictures in the Washington, D.C. area in 1963. He was inspired by the historic March on Washington.

In 1968, he took part in and photographed the Poor People's Campaign. This included the "Mule Train" trip from Marks, Mississippi, to the nation's capital.

He worked as a freelance photographer for Time and Magnum Photos. He even covered events as a White House photographer. In 1997, Freeman became a special visiting professor at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He taught about the Southern United States.

Career as a Photo Documenter

In 1970, Roland Freeman helped lead the Mississippi FolkLife Project. This project was for the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. In 1972, he became a research assistant there.

In this role, Freeman photographed staff at the White House. This included Mrs. Lillian Rogers Parks, who worked there for 30 years. Some of Freeman's photos of African Americans at the White House were shown on official White House websites. They were also part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibition.

Documenting Black Culture

Freeman spent many years on his own project called "While There Is Still Time." This project was a deep study of Black culture across the African Diaspora. He used his camera to research, record, and explain the ongoing traditions of African-American folklife.

He often worked closely with experts like folklorists, historians, and community leaders. His unique methods made important contributions to photography.

Influence on American Quilt History

Roland Freeman spent over 20 years photographing African-American quilters and their groups. He gathered information about their lives and why they made quilts. He also documented people who collected quilts made by African Americans.

His book, A Communion of the Spirits, was a very important book about American quilt history. Before Freeman, no one had done a national study of Black quilters. The book covered 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Some quilt groups featured in the book include The African American Quilters of Baltimore and the Freedom Quilting Bee of Alberta, Alabama. Famous collectors like Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou were also included.

An exhibit of Freeman's quilt photographs is kept permanently at the Smith Robertson Museum in Jackson, Mississippi.

In 2008, he organized a quilt exhibition at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.. This exhibit celebrated the inauguration of President Obama. It was so popular that it was extended for several months.

Death

Roland Freeman passed away on August 7, 2023. He died at his home in Washington, D.C.

Published Works

Books

• Folkroots: Images of Mississippi Black Folklife, 1974–1976 (1977)
• Roland L. Freeman, a Baltimore Portfolio, 1968–1979 (1979)
• Southern Roads/City Pavements: Photographs of Black Americans (1981)
• The Arabbers of Baltimore (1989)
• A Communion of the Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories (1996)
• The Mule Train: A Journey of Hope Remembered (1998)

Awards and Honors

• In 1970, Freeman was the first photographer to receive a Young Humanist Fellowship. This award came from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• He received two Masters of Photography Visual Arts Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. These were in 1982 and 1991.
• In 1994, he won the Living Legend Award for his great achievements in photography. This was from the National Black Arts Festival.
• He received an honorary doctorate degree from Millsaps College in 1997.
• In 2001, the book Fire In My Bones, which featured Freeman's photographs, won the Chicago Folklore Prize. This is an award for the best book in folklore.
• In 2007, he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. This is the highest honor the U.S. government gives for folk and traditional arts.

Collections of His Work

In 2023, the Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill acquired the Roland L. Freeman Collection. This collection includes his papers, thousands of slides, prints, negatives, and contact sheets.

Also in 2023, the Mississippi Museum of Art acquired 131 quilts collected by Roland Freeman. These quilts show the art of African American women, many from the Southern U.S., Liberia, and South Africa.

In 1991, the Smithsonian American Art Museum received ten of Roland L. Freeman's black and white prints.

Roland Freeman’s project on African American Expressive Culture in Philadelphia is kept at the Library of Congress. It includes many images of everyday African American life in Philadelphia in the late 1980s.