Malcom X’s personal photographer passes

Yawu Miller

Award-winning Civil Rights era photojournalist Robert Lee Haggins died on February 8 at the age of 83. Haggins was born in Richmond, Va. and grew up in Harlem. At the age of fifteen, Haggins began studying photography, later earning a master’s in media studies at the New School for Social Research. He then began working as a staff photographer for the New York Age and was also a freelance photographer for publications such as the Amsterdam News.

Haggins was well-known as the personal photographer to Malcolm X from 1959 to 1965, capturing photos of him during speeches, protests and intimate moments with his family. His photos of Malcolm X have been used in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” “Malcolm X: The Great Photographs” and others. Haggins’ work has been published in national magazines such as Time, People and Cosmopolitan as well as having been exhibited in Africa, Europe and Japan.

He leaves behind his beloved children, Robert L. Haggins of Kaysboro, NC and Sharon Haggins Dunn of Brookline as well as his grandchildren Samantha Haggins Jamison of NY, Bridgette M. Dunn of Brookline and Rhea Thompson Dunn of Cambridge. A memorial exhibit celebrating his work will be held in March at the Boston Arts Academy, 174 Ipswich St., Boston. Donations in his memory may be sent to the Robert L. Haggins Scholarship Fund, Mass College of Art Foundation, 621 Huntington Ave., Boston.