The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film effort, The Learning Tree (1969), was selected among the first 25 films so honored, by the U.S. Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for all time.