Visual Storytelling and the Black Experience

Our mission is to move the world, and we take this very seriously. We have spent over a decade working to break down stereotypes and create a more authentic visual view of communities around the world. As part of the wider commitment that we made following the murder of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter movement, the company developed action plans to address biases and discrimination in culture, workforce and content.

In partnership with the Getty Family and Stand Together, we established the inaugural Photo Archive Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This $500,000 grant is supporting the digitization of over 100,000 archival photos from Claflin University, Jackson State University, North Carolina Central University and Prairie View A&M University. Our teams are working alongside each HBCU’s archivists, historian, faculty and students to build unique workflows which will help bring their historical and contemporary photography to the world. Images are currently available in the newly launched HBCU Collection.

Over 100,000 rarely seen photos depicting historical events, African American culture, and educational achievements at HBCUs will be available for licensing in the HBCU Collection, providing a new revenue stream for each HBCU. 100 percent of the revenue generated from this program is reinvested to support current and future HBCU grant recipients, as well as stipends and scholarships for students.

In July 2022, we launched the Black History & Culture Collection (BHCC), an initiative created to help build on existing educational materials, paving the way for a deeper understanding of Black history and inspire future educational projects. The BHCC provides free, non-commercial access to over 30,000 pieces of content from the 1800s to present day to educators, academics, researchers and content creators in order that they can tell untold stories around the Black experience. The collection consists of more than 20 categories of images that give visuals of Black life that encompass politics, hair, education, female empowerment and LGBTQ+ identities.