The Journey of John W. Mosley

by John W. Mosley, Charles L. Blockson

John W. Mosley was a self-taught African-American photographer born in 1907. As a chronicler of Black social and cultural life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mosley's photographs confirm the existence of a viable, productive and stable African-American community in the city from the 1930s through 1969. He not only captured rich traditions and the things that Black people held dear, but also documented the community's responses to post-Depression years, World War II, the post-war years and the era of the civil rights movement. Mosley's photographs provide an accurate, sensitive and revealing look at the nuances of his people. His photographs are provocative and provide an inside view of an African-American community from someone who was intimately connected to it. This book is the first of its kind about Philadelphia's African-American community and includes celebrities and prominent national and international known who interacted with Black Philadelphians. If a picture is worth a thousand words, John W. Mosley's photographs speaks volumes. One of his relatives states "His eye was always on the positive." Mosley's journey is a testimony of this, his deep love of humanity and his great dedication and pride in his craft.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Angélique (Angel) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive introduction to the photography of John W. Mosley, this collection offers a fascinating celebration of Black culture, Black history, and Philadelphia history. I learned so much just from the small descriptions of the photos and from seeing famous individuals appearing in unexpected contexts. My only complaints are that I wish the editor had taken out one of the introductory sections to avoid repetitiveness, spread out some of the introductory information between sections instead of putting it all at the front, and included more of Mosley’s outdoor shots as those were my favorite. All in all, I’d highly recommend this as an easy introduction to the work of a talented Black photographer and the history of Black Philly.