At the height of the civil rights movement, New York Times photographer Alix Jeffry captured the premieres of two revolutionary plays by Adrienne Kennedy and Amiri Baraka. Both works cast a grim light on the state of race in America, portraying with unsettling power the experience of millions of Black Americans for whom the promise of equality was still a lie. Both plays went on to win Obie Awards—the Off Broadway equivalent of a Tony—and their impact on the Black Arts Movement and a new generation of playwrights was immediate and lasting.

Drawing on Alix Jeffry’s archive, In Black and White explores the intersection of the arts and activism at a pivotal moment in Black theater history. This digital collection features dozens of images from Dutchman and Funnyhouse of a Negro taken during rehearsals and live performances in 1964.

In addition to production photos, the collection includes many of Jeffry’s portraits of pioneering Black performers for the New York Times, including Harry Belafonte, Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, and Leontyne Price.

In Black and White was curated by Dale Stinchcomb, Associate Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection, with special thanks to Betts Coup, Margarita Encomienda, Mary Haegert, Adrien Hilton, Vanessa Venti, Robin Wendler, and colleagues from Harvard Library Imaging Services.

This online exhibit includes photographs that were on view at Houghton Library, March-July 2022. Download the exhibition brochure.