Charles Harris

Charles “Teenie” Harris, once a dedicated photographer with the Pittsburgh Courier from 1930 spent his time chronicling the lives of the African American community living in Pittsburgh, until his retirement in 1975. His purchase of his first camera in the 1930s marked the start of his career as a photographer. Before that, he was a numbers runner and a semi-pro athlete. After his purchase he opened his photography studio and became famous for getting a great shot on the first take hence earned the nickname “One Shot”. Harris shut down his studio in 1953 and continued to document important historical events such as Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. The span of Charles Harris’s work dates from 1935-1975. The subjects of his work were mainly rooted in genre art scenes including photographs of celebrities, ordinary folk, politicians, and important protests. Harris’ entire collection of photos has been established as one of the largest collection of photos that documents the black urban experience in the world. Harris photographed a lot of historically prominent people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a press conference at the University of Pittsburgh in 1966 and John F. Kennedy during a speech at Monessen, PA in 1962.