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Chester Higgins Jr. is not simply a photographer. He is one of the great visual historians of the Black world — a man whose lens transformed memory into sacred text. A longtime staff photographer for The New York Times for nearly four decades, Higgins captured the spiritual architecture of Black life with extraordinary dignity and force. His photographs of Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, and Amiri Baraka at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture remain among the most powerful visual records of Black intellect, movement, artistry and spirit. His work lives in museums, archives, history — and in the consciousness of a people still learning to see themselves whole. ()
The Chester Higgins episode of Global I Am is now produced. It still needs a touch more work on the production end — but already it breathes. Soulful. Profound. Brilliant. What began as one conversation became two episodes — a rare gift unfolding at the intersection of storytelling, photography, revolt, memory, and the apex of a master’s eye.
In this conversation, the lineage becomes clear. Gordon Parks became more than photographer; he became witness. Oracle. The Eye of Horus. The ancient Kemetic symbol of protection, healing, restoration — the eye wounded, then restored. Sun and moon. Spirit and return. Through that tradition, Chester Higgins does not merely photograph people. He illuminates them.
His lens is not mechanical. It is spiritual architecture.
Spirit. Soul. Excellence.
He has become that rare artist who transforms as he reveals — reminding us not only how we looked, but how we loved, endured, struggled, prayed, created, resisted, and remembered. His presence itself becomes an archive of grace.
Through Chester Higgins, we remember how to see one another again.
Sacred. In the Spirit. Renewed.
Global I Am.
Wisdom & Grace.
The Culture. Our Capital.
Global I AM Conversations is an ongoing and archived podcasts of the world's builders, artists, entrepreneurs, thinkers, innovators, public servants, and cultural architects whose lives remind us that people—not capital—remain our greatest investment.
Hosted by Patrick A. Howell, Founder & CEO of Global Market Intelligence & Media (GMIQ). Co-hosts include Max Rodriguez of the Harlem Book Fair, Bill Huston of Crowd Max and Tara Frater, a wealth advisor and attorney in Barbados.
Discover more conversations, articles, podcasts and global stories at GMIQ.
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Global I AM Conversations
The Culture. Our Capital.
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