Getty Images is helping Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) digitize rare photographic archives that document African American history from the Reconstruction era onward.
Many of these priceless images have been stored in boxes, at risk of damage and largely inaccessible to the public.
The Getty Images photo archive grants program aims to bridge that gap by funding digitization and global sharing.
Program Launched in 2021
Cassandra Illidge, vice-president of partnerships and HBCU programs at Getty Images, said the company realized there was a lack of content from HBCUs.
“HBCUs hold such a rich history.
We wanted to build something that was unique and specifically would address their needs,” she told The Guardian.
Launched in 2021 alongside the Getty family and Stand Together, the program lets participating schools retain full copyright and receive direct financial benefits.
Licensing revenues are split: 50% goes to the institution, 30% funds student scholarships, and 20% supports future digitization.
Brenda Allen, president of Lincoln University, said the program helps monetize rare images depicting African Americans through the centuries.
“It’s been very helpful in not only bringing in a few dollars, but also helping to get that history of movement out in the world,” she told The Guardian.
Lincoln University and Jackson State University also partnered with Ancestry to make historical documents and photographic archives fully searchable online.
Allen noted that Ancestry re-digitized old materials from the 1800s, upgrading what had been simple scans.
Hidden Treasures Discovered
Getty teams work with university administrators to sort through physical archives and identify commercially viable historical content.
Collections include photos of campus founders, civil rights leaders, notable historic figures, early campus scenes, and legendary athletes during their college years.
Illidge described finding a photo of a woman driving a vehicle in 1900, and images of Jesse Jackson interacting with students at every school visited.
“We’ve even found chrome negatives, we found a negative of Muhammad Ali in Florida at an event,” she said.
The non-profit initiative also includes quarterly calls to share best practices and mentorship programs that sign HBCU photographers as Getty Images contributors.
Initial grant recipients included Claflin University, North Carolina Central University, Jackson State University, and Prairie View A&M University.
The program later expanded to Southern University and A&M College, Lincoln University, Delaware State University, Stillman College, Bennett College, Florida A&M University, and Alcorn State University.
Illidge said the program is just starting, with 11 institutions out of over 100 HBCUs.
“We’re just starting to scratch the surface. The more, the merrier,” she said.
Many historic campuses own culturally iconic photographs that have circulated globally without proper credit.
One example is a famous black-and-white photo of a young Black man drinking from a whites-only water fountain during the Jim Crow era.
The subject and photographer is Cecil J. Williams, an 86-year-old Claflin University alum who still practices photography.
Illidge said the photo was used without permission on merchandise like pins and magnets, with no royalties paid.
“That’s the importance of [the grant] as well, it’s about protecting this intellectual property,” she said.
The program highlights hidden histories from both large and small institutions to shift broader historical narratives.
Alcorn State University, founded by Mississippi’s Reconstructionist legislature, was led by its first president Hiram R. Revels, the first Black US Congressional member.
Illidge said her goal was to find a school in each state that would shift that state’s narratives.
“Mississippi is a very important state historically for the Black community, and there’s so many stories that could counter the negatives of Mississippi,” she said.
Maxine Greenleaf, vice-president of marketing and communication at Alcorn, said vital historical images would be lost without the program.
“It brings those images to life.
We didn’t know that some of these images existed until we started with this project,” she told The Guardian.
Alcorn is America’s first public land-grant HBCU, celebrating 155 years.
“That’s an important part of America’s history,” Greenleaf said.
Alcorn has produced civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers, author Alex Haley, and NFL player Steve McNair.
“Without Getty and all the other contributors to making this project a reality, all of these histories or stories would be lost,” Greenleaf said.
To build engagement, Getty Images collaborates with universities to share historical photo sets on Instagram every few weeks.
