Books Allies Can Read, Part Two: Photography and the Power of the Visual

In Part One, we shared 10 essential books to help allies grow in understanding and commitment to anti-racism. In this second instalment, we’re shifting the focus to photography and visual culture. Images shape how we see the world and how the world sees Black people. These books are for anyone curious about how photography has historically constructed race, and how Black artists are using the lens to challenge and reframe it.

Whether you're a photographer, curator, artist, academic, or simply someone who believes in the power of the visual, these titles are a necessary part of your allyship.

Whether you're a photographer, curator, artist, academic, or simply someone who believes in the power of the visual, these titles are a necessary part of your allyship.

Here’s the list:

1. A Black Gaze: Artists Changing How We See — Tina M. Campt

ISBN: 978-0262546058
Tina Campt offers a compelling look at contemporary Black artists who are not just seen but who insist on being heard. This book explores what it means to look through a "Black gaze", a radical reorientation of vision that shifts power and presence in the act of viewing.

2. Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue

ISBN: 978-1636810454
This publication brings together the work of two iconic photographers whose practices are deeply rooted in Black life, memory, and resistance. Their dialogue across images and time is a lesson in craft, care, and cultural commentary.

3. Dawoud Bey on Photographing People and Communities — Dawoud Bey

ISBN: 978-1597113373
Part of Aperture’s Photography Workshop Series, this book offers both practical and philosophical insights from one of the most important living photographers. Bey’s reflections on representation, intimacy, and dignity are invaluable for those committed to ethical image-making.

4. Decolonising the Camera: Photography in Racial Time — Mark Sealy

ISBN: 978-1912064755
A fierce and necessary intervention, Sealy examines how photography has been weaponised against Black communities and how it can be reclaimed. He traces a history of photographic oppression while celebrating contemporary artists creating new visual vocabularies of liberation.

5. Image Matters: Archive, Photography, and the African Diaspora in Europe — Tina M. Campt

ISBN: 978-0822350743
In this foundational work, Campt uncovers how Black Europeans use photography to claim presence and agency within colonial and postcolonial archives. A must-read for those interested in visual history, diaspora, and resistance.

6. Listening to Images — Tina M. Campt

ISBN: 978-0822362708
Rather than focusing on what images show, Campt invites us to listen to what they do. Drawing on sound, movement, and affect, she radically reimagines how we engage with archival photography, particularly images of the Black diaspora.

7. One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race — Yaba Blay

ISBN: 978-0807073360
Blay’s powerful exploration of Black identity in America examines how visual culture and self-perception intersect with race. Featuring stunning portraits and deeply personal narratives, One Drop challenges narrow definitions of Blackness and opens up vital conversations around visibility and belonging.

8. Orientalism — Edward W. Said

ISBN: 978-0141187426
Though not about photography per se, this classic text is essential for anyone working in visual culture. Said’s examination of how the West has constructed the "Orient" informs how race, power, and the visual operate globally.

9. Photography: Race, Rights and Representation — Mark Sealy

ISBN: 978-1913546335
This collection brings together essays and critical reflections on photography’s role in shaping (and disrupting) racial narratives. It is especially relevant for those exploring the intersection of image-making, justice, and power.

10. The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power — Amy Sall

ISBN: 978-0500025390
Focusing on African image-makers, Amy Sall interrogates the gaze as a site of both colonial control and creative agency. A richly illustrated exploration of how African artists are reshaping narrative power in photography and film.

Bonus Read: When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting — Koyo Kouoh

ISBN: 978-0500025888
As a gift to round out your learning journey, we’re including this beautiful bonus title. While not about photography directly, When We See Us is a celebration of Black figuration across a century of painting. It expands the conversation around visual storytelling and reminds us that representation is powerful across every medium. Think of it as a visual feast and a much-needed balm for the imagination.

Final Word

Seeing is one of the most natural things we do yet it’s shaped by history, culture, and experience. These books invite you to look more closely, to notice more deeply, and to reflect on the stories behind the images we often take for granted.

This list isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a thoughtful place to start if you want to better understand how Black photographers, scholars and artists are reshaping how we see one another.

Allyship isn’t just about what we say, it’s also about how we choose to see. Who we make space for. Whose work we study. And whose images we carry with us.

So take your time. Read slowly. Let these books shift your perspective in quiet, meaningful ways.