Updated . . . Images from the Vault.

This image of some performers celebrating African Music and Dance was taken in Eugene, Oregon at what was then known as the Saturday Market one early spring in the late 1970s. In those days I did a lot of human interest photography. Some of it was used in either the Lane Community College Torch, or the Oregon Daily Emerald. Both were college or university student newspapers. I worked at both of them for a period of years, and managed to do quite a lot of photography while still carrying a full load of classes and work study assignments. This is one of several shots I made that day. The music and the dancers were both lively and joyful and even though the weather was on the cool side, an enthusiastic crowd gathered around this celebration of African culture.  This was also about the time that the television mini-series of Alex Haley's story of "ROOTS" had its first national exposure. I also read the book at about the same time. Alex Haley's book together with the TV mini-series, were important events in raising the consciousness of America. The larger culture previously had little understanding of the African experience in America.   During that time there seemed to be a huge cultural shift where understanding had grown in a way that was not present earlier. It was a remarkable time.