Freeman, Roland L., 1936-

Mr. Roland L. Freeman is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and presently based in Washington, D.C. as a freelance photographer. He is the president of The Group for Cultural Documentation, Inc. He has taught documentary photography at George Washington University, and was photographer-in-residence/research associate with the Institute for the Arts and the Humanities at Howard University. Mr. Freeman has done assignments for the London Sunday Times (England), Newsweek, Forbes, Nation's Business, Inc., Human Behavior, Family Circle, Essence, Black Enterprise, American Visions The World and I, National Geographic, and many other publications. Mr. Freeman also served as a field research photographer in folklore for the Smithsonian Institute's Center for Folk life Programs and Cultural Studies. He received two Masters of Photography Visual Arts Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1982 and 1991), and was the only photographer to be awarded a Young Humanist fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1970).

From the description of Roland L. Freeman Papers. (Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System). WorldCat record id: 53991360

American photographer devoted to recording the lives of rural and urban African Americans.

From the description of Roland L. Freeman photographs, 1969-1985. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 666885330

Roland L. Freeman, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, is the founder and president of The Group for Cultural Documentation, Inc. He began his photography career in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement. Freeman's interest in documenting people, particularly African Americans, has centered on folklore and everyday life. He has worked with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage since 1972, and has taught and lectured at universities throughout the country. In addition, his photography has been published in Life, Newsweek, Forbes, National Geographic, Essence, as well as numerous international publications. His photographs have also been exhibited throughout the world.

Freeman's books include Something To Keep You Warm: The Roland Freeman Collection of Black American Quilts from the Mississippi Heartland (1979), Southern Roads/City Pavements: Photographs of Black Americans (1981), Stand By Me: African American Expressive Culture in Philadelphia (1989), The Arabbers of Baltimore (1989), Margaret Walker's 'For My People': A Tribute (1992), A Communion of the Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories (1996), and The Mule Train: A Journey of Hope Remembered (1998). In 2007, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, along with the NEA's Bess Lomax Hawes Award.

More information on Roland Freeman can be found on The Group for Cultural Documentation's website, http://www.tgcd.org/ .

From the guide to the Roland L. Freeman Photographs, 1969-1985, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)