Howard L. Bingham
The son of a minister and Pullman porter, Howard L. Bingham (May 29, 1939 – December 15, 2016) was the first black photographer to work on a Hollywood Camera Guild crew. His long-time friendship with Muhammad Ali led to the publication of a definitive book of photographs of the fighter, Muhammad Ali: A Thirty Year Journey.
Bingham also documented the Black Panthers, as the Panthers were wary of mainstream media. Their Minister of Information, Eldridge Cleaver, would only allow LIFE to do a story if Bingham was the photographer. the story was ultimately pulled. Forty years later, the photographs and their story were finally be published in Howard L. Bingham’s Black Panthers 1968.
Through his career Howard Bingham has documented some of the most compelling people and events of our time, from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Malcolm X and Robert Kennedy, and his lifelong friend Muhammad Ali.
Learn more at Howard L. Bingham’s official website
