The University of Kansas Libraries has launched a new online archive of African American photography. The Leon K. Hughes Photography Collection was donated to the university by his wife Rosie.
The collection includes more than digital 1,000 images from the 2,700 photographs taken by Hughes of African American workers and their families from 1940 through the 1970s. Hughes began by photographing workers in the Wichita aircraft industry. But his work expanded to cover weddings, graduations, birthday celebrations, religious events, and other facets of African American life.
Many of the photographs include images of unidentified subjects. The University of Kansas is asking visitors to the archives to offer assistance in identifying people shown in the images.
Readers interested in visiting the online archive can do so here.
