John White, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, shared stories and slides Monday afternoon from his wide-ranging and often emotional 30-year career.
About 70 students, faculty and Evanston residents gathered in Fisk Auditorium to hear White speak about the privileges and responsibilities of being a photojournalist during the speech, which was part of the Medill School of Journalism’s Crain Lecture Series.
With slides of his photos projected behind him, White explained his philosophy of photojournalism.
“We all take pictures; we are all photographers,” White said. “We use the camera of the heart. The thing about photojournalists is that they can share their precious images with others on a daily basis. Call us your third eye.
“The photojournalist has a connection with the intrinsic-ness of life.
“We rise up early while others sleep. We remain sober while others are drunk,” he said.
White’s photographs capture emotionally stirring images of humanity, natural phenomena, animals, sports, catastrophe and – most notably – historic moments involving politicians and world leaders. In 1982 White won the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography “for consistently excellent work on a variety of subjects.”
One slide he displayed Monday showed about 20 people lined up against the silhouette of a deteriorating town. White explained that he took the photograph in South Africa during a protest with Jesse Jackson to free then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela.
Moments later police began to fire on the crowd, including White. He wasn’t injured, and two days later he was photographing the recently released Mandela in the kitchen of his home.
“Being a photojournalist gives you a tremendous privilege with an awesome opportunity,” White said.
Other slides included shots of Muhammad Ali jogging, Jesse Jackson and Slobodan Milosevic in deep discussion over releasing U.S. troops detained in Kosovo, public school students in Cabrini Green holding gym class in school hallways and an early photograph of trumpeter Louis Armstrong.
White calls his camera his “universal passport” to the lives of others. Photojournalism is an especially powerful medium, he said.
“Everybody understands the language of a photograph,” White said. “It is powerful and universal.”
After introducing White, Medill Dean Loren Ghiglione hinted that he is considering adding photojournalism to the school’s curriculum.
“To take a camera in hand is to begin to see and experience things differently,” Ghiglione said. “I think it is very important that everybody see the possibilities of photography – even those who see themselves as purely wordsmiths. Any journalism school that wants to be great in the 21st century needs to be good at images, not just words,” he said.
Ghiglione said he first heard White speak at Medill’s Cherub program during the summer.
“I was moved by what he had to say, and I thought he would be a terrific guest lecturer,” Ghiglione said. “I’d love to have him come here as a teacher, or in whatever way we can get him to come here,” he said.
Medill junior Justin Berzon said he has considered photojournalism as a possible career, but has not yet found an outlet on campus to train him in this pursuit.
“I am amazed that Medill doesn’t offer photojournalism training in any form,” Berzon said. “Photography and art are an integral aspect of putting together any publication.”
Audience members received a free copy of the book, “The Final Journey of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin,” which includes many photographs White took during the year before the cardinal’s death in 1996.
