Black Artists of DC Mourns the Loss of DC- based Photographer Harlee Little

A native of Concord, NC, Harlee Little was born the first child of six. He displayed an early interest in photography taking pictures of buildings around the campus of Livingstone College where his father worked.

The momentous year of 1954 changed everything for young Little, baseball, baseball all the time. All time was measured in relation to baseball, at home, at school, at church, even on granddaddy's farm. It was baseball that gave Little his first experience with what W. E. B. Dubois called the duality of black life in the United States. Would his number be 24 or 7, the markings of two New York center fielders of the day?

On into high school baseball ruled the clock until his parents pointed out that playing baseball was play. It was now serious time for education and work. So serious it was. Little enrolled in Howard University almost a century after the emancipation of African slaves with aspirations of a degree in law or physics.

Photographs for an independent student newspaper in 1968 began a life in photography and a commitment to exploring the power and impact of visual communication. Photography became central element in Little's subsequent work and professional experience, including teaching, social documentation, magazine production and management, and design of communication services for federal agency initiatives.

Little has produced outstanding photographic images for use in art, commerce, education, industry, journalism, public and corporate relations since 1974. He specialized in producing images that communicate and document the ideas and ideals of advocates and educators, associations and corporations, entrepreneurs and government agencies.

The unique imagery of Little's vision has been published and displayed worldwide. Among these venues are American Heritage, Black Excellence, Black Collegian, Columbia JournalismReview, Emerge, Espana, Essence, Harper Collins Books, Jet, People, Science Magazine, Sydney MorningHerald, The Washingtonian, Time, Washington Post, Washington Times, and ABC News 20/20. His photographs are also featured in the exhibit and publication Reflections in Black, a history of black photographers 1840 to the present. Harlee Little is a founding member of the Exposure Group: African-American Photographers Association and was an active member in the Black Artists of DC.
Harlee Little died on January 1, 2009.

MEMORIAL FOR HARLEE LITTLE

Family and friends will gather to remember Harlee Little,
an outstanding human being, artist, photographer, teacher,
and friend.

Saturday February. 7,
1:00 pm

Rankin Chapel,

Sixth Street &
Howard Place, N.W.
Washington, DC 20059

Howard University campus.

Repast: Blackburn Center
2nd Floor Ballroom
Howard University
Directly After the service



(Bio above from the Exposure Group website)


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