Given his previous experience as a high school journalism teacher, Brown continues to encourage students to pursue photojournalism as a career. Just as Parks's stunning photography inspired him and other African American photojournalists, Brown hopes the work of today's Black photojournalists can inspire the next generation.
"It makes a difference when you see a certain role model who inspires you," he says.
RELATED ARTICLE: Photo Facts
A 1998 survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) reported that there were 263 African Americans out of 5,790 total photographers employed by American newspapers, or nearly 4.5 percent. Minorities constitute 14.6 percent of newspaper photographers, according to ASNE. ASNE surveyed 957 of the 1,462 daily newspaper in the United States.
The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC), based in Lawrence, Kansas, accredits 107 programs of journalism and mass communications at American colleges and universities. Charles Higginson, assistant to the executive director of ACEJMC estimates there are 400 total programs of journalism and mass communications, which includes both accredited and nonaccredited programs.
ACEJMC has record of only three schools that offer a bachelor's degree in photojournalism: Western Kentucky University, Northeast Louisiana University, and Texas Tech.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Cox, Matthews & Associates© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
