Roy DeCarava

“It doesn’t have to be pretty to be true. But if it’s true it’s beautiful. Truth is beautiful. And so my whole work is about what amounts to a reverence for life itself.” - Roy DeCarava 

Roy DeCarava started off painting but traded in his brushes for a camera. His images of African-American life—scenes in Harlem, the civil rights movement and jazz musicians—are now iconic. In 1952, DeCarava was the first black photographer to receive a Guggenheim grant. In 1996, the Museum of Modern Art put on a retrospective of his work. DeCaravawas awarded a National Medal of Arts in 2006. He died in New York City on October 27, 2009

Wonderful interview with DeCarava on Fresh Air. In this interview he speaks about some of his most famous images, the choice of black and white photography, his life and his career. 
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114287231