Beloved long-time New York photographer Lem Peterkin is finally getting his name in lights. This week, he will have a showing of the photos he has taken over the past 50 years as a Brooklyn photojournalist.
From Rosa Parks to Nelson Mandela to Dr. Ben to Sonny Abubadika Carson Little Leaguers, he has captured leaders, activists and regular people. His beautiful pictures are on display until Aug. 31, 2016, at the Kalahari Gallery, 1103 Fulton St., Brooklyn, a wonderful event space of the late Jitu Weusi, now run by his widow, Angela Hope-Weusi.
The private showing took place Sunday, July 10, and approximately 150 people came out to show love and appreciation for the man known as Juice. All over the venue, framed photos ranged from prominent Black activists to different cultural performances in the community. Beautiful Afro-centric art was also on display in the venue as well. The event was attended by people who Peterkin knows personally and by people in the community. Surprisingly he said, that while he is a staple in papers such as the Amsterdam News and the Daily Challenge, only four of photos in the exhibition have ever been published. Thats a pity because each photo has a story to tell. As the invitation states, Peterkin has “5,000 images of the politics, history and culture of Black New York. He has many many more on 35mm negatives going way back …We believe that your activism and presence on the New York stage has given you the ability to identify the people and places whose contribution to Black life and times is at risk of being lost.”