Remembering Rev. L.O. Taylor

Four years ago, I was working as a freelance journalist when I penned this story for the Memphis Flyer about Memphis' tradition of African American photographers.

Now I'm working at the Brooks, which, in February 2006, exhibited Pictures From Home: Six African-American Studio Photographers in the South, 1900-1950, one of the shows I wrote about. The exhibition included the work of Rev. L.O. Taylor, a self-taught photographer, Baptist preacher, candymaker, and appliance repairman who, from the 1920s to the 1970s, documented the Springdale community of North Memphis.

This Sunday, the Center for Southern Folklore is honoring Taylor with a tribute that will include his friends and family, and showcase the Center's preservation of his photos, films, recordings and artifacts, which have been recognized by the Library of Congress and others as one of the most comprehensive chronicles of everyday life in the African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. The celebration runs from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Center's Folklore Hall, which is located at 119 S. Main St. Go here for more info.