Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Oh my goodness, I am Stormy. We keep our fingertips
on the pulse of our community, and I just want
to say thank you to all of you that join
us every week. Right here, now listen today, I've got
a special guest on the show. I want you to
welcome her with open arms because we're talking about Memphis
(00:22):
and some things happening in Memphis that you need to
know about. Mmm. Ladies and gentlemen, my special guest today.
Tell everybody who you are and what it is you do.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hello. Everyone, My name is Ciro Smith. I am the
assistant curator of Photography at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Okay, I told you when I hear your name.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Rose, no that song and I call her role and
I call her that's right, Yes you may, yes, Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So Rose is over at the Brooks Museum and show
off hands anybody who's been to the Brooks Museum out there.
I'm sure Karl is listening. One time he told me
that he listens to this show. So okay, good morning,
Carl and Valerie. Karl is actually one of the board
members over at the Books museum, So big hello to
him and everybody else that's out there listening. Maybe they
(01:10):
are other board members or people that are part of
Brooks Museum that it's listened, that's listening to us today.
Welcome in, Thank you for joining us. Rose contacted me
some time ago and she contacted me to talk to
me about some people a name in our community. Is
it two people?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Two photographers, two founding photographers, two founding photographers who, yeah,
who sort of established a family run business and they
have names in our community that you probably know. So
tell us about those photographers, Rose, if you don't mind. Yeah,
So we're talking about the Hooks Brothers. So the Hooks
Hooks Brothers. Yes, So the Hooks Brothers, you know, they
(01:52):
were this sort of pre eminent black photography, black commercial
photography business and Memphis, and they established their practice in
nineteen oh seven, so we're talking about nineteen oh seven,
so the greater of the twentieth century, you know, much
of the greater of the twentieth century. So from nineteen
oh seven to nineteen eighty four, so they were photographing, wow,
(02:16):
all of black life in Memphis throughout seventy you know,
throughout the decades, three years. It was a long time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, and they're not with us today, they're no longer
with us.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
So the founding brothers were Henry and Robert Hooks. They
were born in the in nineteen let's see, in eighteen nineties.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Wow. Yeah, And I know they have family members that
are listening because I know there's some a lot of
Hooks that are still in the community. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah,
So tell me about their their You told me that
they did a lot of pictures for WDA. Are the
first black programmed radio station or radio station programmed for
black people back in the day. So they did pictures for.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, in nineteen forty seven, to be exact, WDA was established.
And so you have photographs, you know of Nattee Williams,
who I see you know on your wall. Yeah, back here,
you know, you have images of Rufus Thomas and Carla Thomas,
and you know so many black musicians who were performing,
you know, on Bill Street and who were sort of
(03:18):
in conversation or even represented and supported by WUDA. Yeah,
back in the forties.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
When you walked, when you walked in, the first picture
you saw was who.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Was bb King And what did you say, and I said, wow,
look at that story. That is a Hooks brought this photograph.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah. And in fact, I was just looking at that
same image in the collection a couple of days ago. What, yes,
the same image Wow? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah. So I think sometimes for a lot of us,
when you see pictures like that, you don't think about
somebody had to take it, you know, I don't know
what it is. We just automatically think it's just a picture,
you know what I'm saying. But somebody took that.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Took that, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, and not
just took it, but they made it. Yeah, you know
what I mean. The main king of an image, the
making of representing someone the way that they wanted to
be represented, right, sort of thinking about BB King collaborating
with the Hooks Brothers, the founding Hoks Brothers, to represent
himself the way that he saw himself and the way
that the Hooks Brothers also saw him.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, because I think he's got Lucille in his own absolutely,
the guitar. The guitar, Okay, let's not be confused. Yeah,
because he's saying about a many For those of you
that know his music, BB King's music you know so,
But yeah, I think that is so interesting because back
in the day, photographers like that and many of us
and probably photographers today try to recreate what photographers back
(04:36):
then because to me, they were the real creators of
picture of that medium. You know that we sometimes don't
appreciate you know, we see those old pictures, but we
don't really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Him, right, maybe for the stories that they hold, Yeah,
you know, to that capacity.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
I feel like they tell stories. I feel like sometimes
those pictures from that era told more stories than what
we tell today. We're so quick with it because we
got iPhones. We just snap and snap, I know I do.
Let me just speak for me. I'm so quick witted.
I snap pictures, you know, and I don't tell stories.
But I love that picture of BB King with his
(05:16):
guitar and how it's telling a story. It's like almost
who he.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Is, Yeah, you know he is. It's indicative of who
he is.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, And even if you didn't know who BB King
was and you saw that picture, you would ask yourself,
probably why does he have that guitar? You know what
I want to get to, I would ask who is that?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah? You know, and that's and that's the most powerful
thing about the collection. You know that the Hooks about
this collection and all of the photographs that are in
this collection and to be you know, to be exact,
like there are about seventy five thousand photographs in this collection.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
So we're talking about and again like just walking through
the decades of black Memphis, you know, from and again
nineteen oh seven to nineteen eighty four, and so you
really get a chance to sell I know, because we
gotta we gotta swallow that, like we gotta let that marinate.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Because we're in Memphis. We talk in Memphis history, Memphis history,
Memphis history, and probably a lot of do you know
what I love about w g I A and about
Memphis too. There's so many documentaries about wud I. There's
so many documentaries that capture the essence of this city
from them to other photographers like Ernest Withers and and
(06:27):
and probably others, but those we know probably more of
because they were probably everywhere. Hooks Brothers everywhere. Yeah, I
mean you talk about people that shot Martin Luther King
and probably presidents and and and you know, the Hooks
Brothers who obviously shot a lot of entertainers, so many
(06:48):
all of the musicians who were signed to Sacks are
in the collection. Wow, all of them.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So, you know. And in fact, I was just meeting
with I don't know if you're familiar with doctor Ernestine Jenkins.
She's a Memphis historian and she's a professor at the
University of Memphis. So she's working with me as a
scholar on this collection. And we were just looking at
a photograph of Ann People's and and talking about Missy
Elliot's reinterpretation of a People's song, you know, the sample
(07:13):
I Can't Stand the Rain, you know, and so and
so thinking about Ann Peoples being signed to High Records, right,
or being a part of High Records, but you know,
performing and performing with them, but also recording that song
here in memphisis Stacks back in the day, you know. Yeah,
and just and and again just thinking about what the
what the photograph communicates, right, you see this beautiful portrait
(07:34):
of Ann People's in the studio and in the studio
at the Hooks Brother studio, right, and she's just she's
just she just has so much pride and joy, right,
and you and you.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Got to think about to the times that they were
living in you know what I'm saying, because they were
not our times today, even though you know, everything aetty
perfect now, but back then they were living through stuff,
riots and all that kind of stuff that we don't
we know nothing about, you know what I'm saying, Not
that we don't have the today, but back then it
was for them life or death.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Right, racial segregation of Memphis, you know, just imagining what
the time was like in the forties, yeah, right, sort
of on the precipice of the civil rights movement in
the fifties and sixties. And so you know, when I
look through when I look at this collection, you know,
that is something that I think deeply about, very deeply about,
And I'm like, you know, what was Memphis like, you know,
for black people in the twenties and the thirties and
the forties, and even just kind of thinking about Memphis
(08:26):
in relation to cities like Harlem, right, and sort of
thinking about the Harlem Renaissance, but also thinking about the
sort of Memphis Renaissance that was happening at the same time.
And even that even predates the Harlem Renaissance to some extent, wow,
by at least a decade.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
M Okay, rich history Memphis has. That is one of
the things you learn to appreciate when you come to
Memphis if you're coming to visit. And you know, I
think it's interesting that, you know a lot of times
when I go over to the National Civil Rights Museum,
how people come from around the world to experience Memphis.
They don't just go there, they go stacks in other places.
(09:01):
And I'm sure to Brooks. So the Brooks Yeah, still
for this collection, when does it debut or has a debut?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Right, so it hasn't debuted, you know. So the Brooks
Museum is actually working in partnership with the Civil Rights
Museum to preserve, conserve, and create scholarship around the collection.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So it's a long term project. Essentially, this is going
to take maybe about twenty or thirty years wow, to
preserve into rehouse and to make accessible to the public
because we really want to engage artists, we want to
engage historians, and we want to engage to general public.
And one of the things that's really interesting about this collection,
because it's so vast and because it's Memphis specific, you
have so many folks as families that are represented in
(09:41):
this collection. Because the Hooks brothers. We're not only photograph
and musicians. Yeah, but they were photographing everybody in Memphis.
They were photographing all of the black high schools in Memphis.
So in fact, my grandmother and my great aunts are
pictured in this collection. Kidding, I'm so serious? How wow? Yeah,
So we're talking about high schools like my grandmother went
to Mananza's, my mom went to Melrose, and so anyone
(10:03):
who went to you know, the black high schools in
Memphis who were born in you know, the fifties, sixties, seventies,
they're photographs. You know, they were probably photographed by the Hooks.
Not probably, they were photographed by the Hucks brothers and
they're in that collection.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Wow. So how does your parents how now that you
are doing this work that it's almost like you were
To me, it sounds like you were drawn to it
exactly because you're doing work, and then you see your family.
How did your family? How did they deal with that?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I mean, you know, my mom is extremely supportive, and
you know, she's just she's she's always surprised, like whenever
I tell her about something that I find in the
collection that you know, might connect to our family history.
She's like, Oh, I want to see it. Yeah, you know,
Oh I need to tell you know, Oh I need
to tell my cousin, Sue.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
You got to tell the family.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You got to tell the family about it, you know.
And so yeah, I mean, so you know, my mom
and my dad rest recipes. My dad passed away last year.
My dad was like the biggest, my biggest supporter, especially
for photography. I'm a photographer as well. I have a
you know, sort of background in photography, but also I
have been studying photography for maybe about the last decade.
So you know, my parents are huge supporters of what
(11:11):
I'm doing, and they're just so so proud.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Wow. Okay, So I am Stormy. It is the pulse
and always keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our
community and just loving the history that is Memphis, you
know what I'm saying. So when you step in Memphis,
you step, put your foot, your toe across the lines,
You're in history basically. I mean, there's so much rich
(11:33):
history from the Mississippi Sippy to you know, down straight
down the road. You know, there's so much history here
and just you know, seeing even everything that you see
the landscape and all of that, but to think about
all the pictures that have been taken. So I'm sure
there are a lot of pictures of the landscape of
the Lips that the Hook's brothers took as well. Absolutely,
(11:54):
I mean, and even Bill Street.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You know, we think about the history of Bill Street
and thinking about a sort of Robert Church scene here
purchasing Bill Street in eighteen ninety and renovating us. Yeah,
you know this he was the memphisis and maybe even
the United States's first black millionaire. And so to purchase
this district and revitalize it and you know, sort of
designated as a as a safe haven for black people, right,
(12:18):
and you really see the emergence of black creativity and
black entrepreneurship on Bill Street through this collection, you know,
so I guess see. And again, I mean, you know,
the Hooks brothers they were trained by the first black
photographers in Memphis, who were James P.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Newton.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And this was in the eighteen nineties, and so James P.
Newton and his brother, Charles Newton, they moved to Chicago
and the Hooks brothers took over their studio from there,
and then you know, they just continue the sort of
interest in photography and then passion for photography and the
passion for representing Black Memphis through photographs.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Wow, talking to Rose you guys over from the Brooks Museum,
and how much did you learn or have you learned
since you started working on this project?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
A wealth of knowledge? It sounds like it's just you know,
isn't I can sit with these photographs for hours, and
I do I start my day, you know, I'll come
into the museum and I'll answer some emails, and then
you know, by ten eleven o'clock, like I'm immersed in
the collection, I'll put my phone, LL do not disturb,
and I'll just you know, just really call through images
and just sit with certain images that speak louder than
others and just read them, you know, and feel them,
(13:22):
because there's there's almost a sensorial quality about the image.
You know, it's it's speaking to me in certain ways,
or it feels like or you know what I mean,
it's like what the Hooks Brothers or who the Hooks
Brothers photograph reminds me of someone or something that that's familiar.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yeah, yeah, no, I get it, I get it. How
do you even choose if there's how many did you
say pictures. It's a lot of picture a lot of photographs. Yeah, yeah,
and I'm sure a lot of them are fabulous.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
They are they are They're all I mean, they're all fantastic,
they're all beautiful.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Is there some place we can go and see these?
And when you guys get I mean, tell me girl.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Right, I'll tell you because you know, so, I am
working toward an exhibition that's going to open at our
new museum. If people don't know, the Brooks Museum is
moving from our current location in Overton Park. We're moving downtown.
We're going to We're changing our name to the Memphis
ar Museum. So we're going to be the city's art museum.
And you know, when we open in twenty twenty six,
December twenty twenty six, the Huks Brothers exhibition that's going
(14:20):
to open, you know why at the time, that'll be
here before you know exactly. I mean, time is speeding up, yeah,
you know.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
It is just a couple of days ago was the
shortest day recorded in history.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
They seriously okay, I felt it. Okay, I felt.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
It, like what right? But yeah, so, and I imagine though,
if you got to go through seventy five. I mean
time does kind of. It doesn't stand today, It's not standstill.
So you know, I'm moving as quickly as I can.
And what I can say, you know, is really sort
of thinking about this collection and thinking about the exhibition
that I'm curating, you know, as an introduction to the
Hugs Brothers, to introduce our community folks who are aware
(14:58):
of the Hugs Brothers, but to reintroduce them to our community, right,
to reintroduce the Ux Brothers, or to introduce the X
Brothers to our nation, right, and sort of.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Thinking about this is going to be historical. Yeah, I
mean it really is. I can just go on and
on and on. But you know, there are going to
be one hundred photographs, you know, on view in this exhibition,
just to give people a sample.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Will they be big, They will be.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Various sizes, yeah, so small media.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
No.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Wait, So we're going to have an exhibition on view
at the Brooks or at the Memphis Art Museum in
twenty twenty six. We're also going to have an exhibition
on view at the Civil Ars Museum because we're working
in partnership. Like I said, I love it, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I love it, and I just think that. Yeah, that's
where it should be both places. I mean, this is yeah,
because people will want to come from all over the world.
Are there any pictures that have well, I'm sure there
are that have not made it to I guess public
view or national statement stages.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, so many.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I mean, you know what about pictures. Did they take
pictures of Doctor King as well?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
They you know what, I have not come across an
image of Doctor King yet in the collection, but I'm
sure it's there. Wow, I'm sure it's there.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
And maybe of the marches yeap of the march yep,
and definitely in the sixties. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
So okay, you got a lot to do, lots to do.
The storm come on, okay, so tell me tell me
that the family members of the Hooks that are still around,
have you been working with them to you know, kind
of bring this thing to life as well.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah. I've been in conversation with Brent Hooks, who he's
a little bit older.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, so he and I he's very excited about, you know,
about this collection, the fact that we have it, and
the fact that we're preserving it and making it accessible
to you know, our community. So he and I are
always in conversation about you know, about sort of ideas
that he has and how we can even intersperse different
programming that ideas that he has in mind for when
we open the show, you know, at the new museum.
So we're we're always in dialogue.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Okay, okay. Any other family members, like the older ones
from the family, Yeah, come out to you know, explain
pictures or tell you about the brothers and in I
guess in connection with the pictures that you're watching or seeing, right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So that's what I'm working on now, And that's the
next piece is get into touch with some of the
older you know Hooks family folks who are in their eighties,
so that I can sit down and chat with them
about you know, what we have and wanting to get
their insight and wanting to get there you know sort
of even their ore history is around witnessing, you know,
perhaps some of the younger, the younger Hooks brothers photographers
before they passed away in the late seventies. Yeah, you know,
(17:18):
so folks who might remember that.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Mm hm. So so you're still waiting for people to
contact you because I'm sure there's probably somebody listening that
could do that, and would you want them to maybe
email or something.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I would love for them to email me. I know.
I'm also working with, like I said, the Black high
schools in Memphis and getting together with some of the
alumni associations. Yeah, and bringing photographs from the collection, like
you know, maybe even copies of the photographs, right to
just sit down and talk to folks who graduated like
in the sixties and seventies who are still around, who
can talk about the Hux Brothers.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Yeah, man that you know a lot of those folks
listen through all these stations for sure, So somebody's bound
to reach out to you. How would you want them
to do that if hey, if they are listening, well, while.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Right, so so you can feel free to email me.
My email is C. Dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks
Museum dot org. So I'll say it again, see as
in Charlie dot Rose, r Se dot Smith at Brooks
Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Okay, yeah, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
What is it about the Hooks Brothers that maybe you
have learned that we don't know? Because I know they
were more than just photography.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, I mean there were artists. I see that very
clearly when I look at the photographs and in the collection. Yeah,
and so you know, one of the things that I
noticed when I look at the photographs, and even when
I think about the founding Hooks brothers, you know, establishing
their business on Bill Street back in nineteen oh seven,
you know, they had a background in painting and they
(18:48):
painted their backdrops, which is really interesting. So they would
paint these you know, sort of elaborate landscapes on their
backdrops and have sitters coming out.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's why they were so good at what they do.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
That's it. That's it, that's it. And the way that
they would play with lighting is really interesting too. And
they would have this soft focus that they used, you know,
photographing their sitters, right, and so you know, to me,
it's it's creativity, it's artistic, that is And I mean,
you know, and I think even just the way that
they thought about beauty, the way that they thought and
sort of saw black men fians as beautiful. I mean,
(19:19):
their slogan was where there's beauty, we take it. Where
there's none, we make it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
What.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
So you know, they really centered beauty in their practice,
and so much so that you know, in the forties
they started to color their photographs and accentuate certain details
in the photographs of each sitter. Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
So when you as an artist and you when you
see their artistry, now get it what you were saying. Well,
not as well as you do, because I don't know
the whole story, but just hearing what you've said so far,
I get it more so they just the slogan is
really what they did? How do you do that? See?
That's genius marketing, right. I don't even know if they
(20:03):
knew that back then.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
But where there's beauty, where there's beauty, we take it.
Where there's none, we make it, we craft it.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And that is to me, the story of African American
history in America.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I mean, beautiful people. Radio, come on, come on WD
I what stop?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Memphis? Okay, okay, I'm telling you so much history. That's
why I love this place. And just thinking about what
you're you know, you're kind of telling the story about them,
and it's I'm sure the family is very appreciative of
all of this. And you know those folks that are
in those pictures too, are probably going to be I remember,
(20:45):
back when I was in school, we had a guy
who took all of our pictures for school and all
that stuff. You know what I'm saying. It sounds like
the Hooks brothers, but they were not as good. I'm
sure you know what I'm saying. We just showed up
and took a picture. Nobody was drawing backdrops, and you
know what I'm saying. So, and we appreciate what they
did because they did a fabulous job with what they had,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
What I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
But it sounds like they just went above and begunned.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
They exceeded, They exceeded people's expectations and standards. I mean,
you know, I can only imagine you know, Black Memphians
back in the twenties or even in the forties, you know,
looking at their photographs and saying, oh my god, this
is me.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Yeah. And even Bb King the picture that we were
looking at, I bet you Bb that was probably one
of his favorites.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Absolutely, I can only imagine, can only imagine.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, And we're looking forward to seeing this rose. Y'all
got to come on. No, no, I mean, and I
know what. We don't want to rush it because I
know that when it does come together, it's going to
be fabulous. I can't wait because y'all don't do y'all
don't have step over.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
We don't have.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Y'all got it going on over then, you know, and
a well kept secret. I think for some people that
don't appreciate why is that visit that people that live
in a city don't always appreciate the things that they
have in a city, especially when it's free. Because the
Brooks Museum has a day that Memphians can come for free, right,
So why is it that we sometimes don't.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I don't know why we do that, but we you know,
but I think that you know me, even being on
the show with you, Yeah, it's like just to go
ahead and invite people to come on, come, come on down.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Come on, come on down to the Brooks. Yeah, get
to know it, get to know us.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I mean we have some exciting programming happening, you
know every Thursday, you know, we have events, we have
our late night, we have DJs come in, We'll have
an orchestra that might play, you know. We we've worked
with the Memphis Siphony Orchestra recently. We have a Collider
Rolls exhibition up right now that I site curated, and
I mean, we just have so much going on. It's
just it's rich, it's creative.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
But that's what I love too about you guys. You're
not just talking about artistry, and you're you're making artistry
come to life with all the events. I was over
there the other day, we were meeting with Jeff and
I saw people sitting outside kids. I think it might
have been a Tuesday too, It might have been Tuesday
when the kids were coming. I saw a school bus
outside and I was thinking, man, this has got to
(23:01):
be an amazing time for kids to come and see
what's in the Brooks Museum, learn about what's happening there,
and then come outside. They were on the lawn eating.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Look at that.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You know, that was just artistry right there.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Somebody could have been not just just snapping photos. Yeah,
you know, seeing children at rest and having fun, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
And so we have a fantastic education department too, so
we were always having events too for young people and
even for a seasoned adults, you know. So that's another
reason why we want, you know, more people to come
out and engage with us and engage.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah. So the hooks back to them, back to the hooks, Yes,
back to the hooks.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Brothers.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
What else can you tell us about them that maybe
some folks don't I imagine though a lot of people
in Memphis know probably more history about it than they
will ever than they've probably shared, you know what I'm saying.
So what is it about them that maybe we don't
Another thing about them that maybe we don't know?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, I mean, you know, the Hooks Brothers, even though
they were Memphis based, they really became well known in
the region and even beyond the region. Like they would
photograph in Chicago, they would photograph in Michigan, they would
photograph in Kansas, so you know, they really had a
traveling practice, which is really interesting, and so that's something
that I've been spending a lot of time looking at.
They also had a photography school, so they taught photography. Wow,
(24:19):
alongside having a studio and running a studio for you know,
through the decades, but they had a photography school where
they were educating young people, you know, young black photographers
and even you know, sort of thinking about as I
mentioned early on, you know, they had a practice that
spans seventy three years. So you really see in this
collection both world wars, you know, World War One, World
War Two. You see office through the Great Depression, you see.
(24:42):
I mean you see the sort of the precursor of
the Civil rights movement and then the civil rights movement. Right.
So you see a lot of these historical historical moments
in the collection. And you know in that they had
this photography school and they were also educating veterans returning
home from war who were interested in photography. Wow.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So they just weren't They weren't just doing it. They
were also teaching teaching them. They were teaching them. Yeah.
The school that they were doing is that something that
still is not.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
It's not still around. It was it was called the
Hooks School of Photography. Wow. And that was in the
forties and fifties.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
So there is a lot, there's a lot, there's a
lot to look at.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Yeah, we'll all of that be a part of.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
The it'll be a part of the experts.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So we're gonna not just see their pictures, We're gonna
learn about them and their gifts and talents as well.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, we will.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
That's it. Yes, this is it. And again I know
the Hook's family is so proud.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah, I mean I just feel I feel honored, you know,
to be stewarting to be in a position to stewart
this kind of collection, I mean, that's really a gym.
And I'm grateful to Rodney Harrington and his you know,
his wife Andrea Harrington. Yeah, they bought the collection and
brought it back to memboos they did, Yeah, yeah, they did.
They stored it that it was in Oxford, Mississippi for
a while, but you know, they wanted it back in Memphis,
(26:00):
and they reached out to the Brooks. They reached out
to the Civil Rights Museum and said, hey, I have
this collection. Can we work something out? And that's what
we're doing now.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Wow, Okay, that is I did not know that. I didn't.
I saw her was it last year at the Freedom
Awards and I didn't. We didn't speak of that. She
didn't say anything, but you know what she did. Okay,
that's enough. I'm about to tell all myself. Anyway, that
(26:32):
is fabulous. Yeah, you guys to hear this story and
to see that Memphis is getting ready to come to
life in a way that we never imagined. And I
can imagine that if it's in Memphis, then it's going
to be a gift to the world too. You're probably
going to have a lot of publications certainly, and newspapers,
(26:52):
the cameras are coming, yeah, all the things.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yeah, and I mean we're working on a catalog too
to accompany the exhibition, so people will have an opportunity
to purt the book and to read, you know, read
more about the Bus brothers.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, okay, that's fabulous. So there is a book about them?
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Well so there isn't yet. I'm working on that as
a part of the exhibition.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Well, this is so exciting. So when you get through
with the book, you're gonna let us know about it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Right, Yeah, So it's gonna it's also gonna it's gonna
debut at the at the new Museum, at the Memphis
ar Museum.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Okay, so we got something to look forward to, so
much to look forward to. You guys, if you are
a member of the Hooks family, or if you're a
member of these schools that Rose has been telling us about,
please contact Rose so she can make you maybe you
might become a part of what you know, what joy
that would be. And for these for the some of
the folks that are in these pictures, for their children
(27:45):
and grandchildren to see them is going to be fabulous.
So tell them again, Rose, how they can get in
touch with you.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Yeah, so please please please please contact me at C
dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Got it. Thank you again for coming back a welcome
storm anytime. Yeah, this has been fabulous. I'm just excited.
I'm excited for the Hooks family. I'm excited for the
Brooks Museum to have this collection. Thankful to the Haringtons
for making it available to the city of Memphis. Is
just it's fabulous And for all the work that you
are doing. God bless you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
I receive it.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Thank you. That is just okay, keep it going, Yeah,
keep it going, Come on there. So yeah, so we
all have something to look forward to next year and
even this year. If you can reach out to Rose
and give her some information. Brooks Museum is where she works.
Tell them again how they can reach your Rose.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yeah, I'm the assistant curator of Photography at the Memphis
Brooks Museum of Art. You can reach me at C.
Dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Got it, all right, Rose, any parting words, anything we
need to know before you go.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You know, I just have to say I just I
love Memphis, you know, really like I love. I'm so
pleased to be back home. I'm from Memphis. I was
away for Memphis for almost for almost twenty years. Wow,
And so this collection brought me back to Memphis, and
I am just I'm just so grateful. I have so
much gratitude and joy to be back in the city. Yeah,
to be you know, reconnected with family members and friends
(29:14):
and meeting new folks and just you know, storting this collection.
And I'm just so excited and elated to just see
how this collection make, you know, make our makes our
community smile. Wow.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, thank you Rose for what you do. Absolutely all right,
all right, thank you all for listening to the show today.
I've had a good time. I hope you have to
Rose from a Brooks Museum.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Thank you again. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Tell them again how they can get in touch with you.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Yeah. So you can reach me at C dot Rose
dot Smith at Brooksmuseum dot org. I'm also on social media.
I'm on Instagram. You can also reach me there at
C dot Rose Smith.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Got it all right, y'all. It is the pulse. I
am Stormy. We keep our fingertips on the pulse of
our community. We will see you next week, same time,
same station, God bless you have a great week.
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Oh my goodness, I am Stormy. We keep our fingertips
on the pulse of our community, and I just want
to say thank you to all of you that join
us every week. Right here, now listen today, I've got
a special guest on the show. I want you to
welcome her with open arms because we're talking about Memphis
(00:22):
and some things happening in Memphis that you need to
know about. Mmm. Ladies and gentlemen, my special guest today.
Tell everybody who you are and what it is you do.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hello. Everyone, My name is Ciro Smith. I am the
assistant curator of Photography at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Okay, I told you when I hear your name.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Rose, no that song and I call her role and
I call her that's right, Yes you may, yes, Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So Rose is over at the Brooks Museum and show
off hands anybody who's been to the Brooks Museum out there.
I'm sure Karl is listening. One time he told me
that he listens to this show. So okay, good morning,
Carl and Valerie. Karl is actually one of the board
members over at the Books museum, So big hello to
him and everybody else that's out there listening. Maybe they
(01:10):
are other board members or people that are part of
Brooks Museum that it's listened, that's listening to us today.
Welcome in, Thank you for joining us. Rose contacted me
some time ago and she contacted me to talk to
me about some people a name in our community. Is
it two people?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Two photographers, two founding photographers, two founding photographers who, yeah,
who sort of established a family run business and they
have names in our community that you probably know. So
tell us about those photographers, Rose, if you don't mind. Yeah,
So we're talking about the Hooks Brothers. So the Hooks
Hooks Brothers. Yes, So the Hooks Brothers, you know, they
(01:52):
were this sort of pre eminent black photography, black commercial
photography business and Memphis, and they established their practice in
nineteen oh seven, so we're talking about nineteen oh seven,
so the greater of the twentieth century, you know, much
of the greater of the twentieth century. So from nineteen
oh seven to nineteen eighty four, so they were photographing, wow,
(02:16):
all of black life in Memphis throughout seventy you know,
throughout the decades, three years. It was a long time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, and they're not with us today, they're no longer
with us.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
So the founding brothers were Henry and Robert Hooks. They
were born in the in nineteen let's see, in eighteen nineties.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Wow. Yeah, And I know they have family members that
are listening because I know there's some a lot of
Hooks that are still in the community. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah,
So tell me about their their You told me that
they did a lot of pictures for WDA. Are the
first black programmed radio station or radio station programmed for
black people back in the day. So they did pictures for.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, in nineteen forty seven, to be exact, WDA was established.
And so you have photographs, you know of Nattee Williams,
who I see you know on your wall. Yeah, back here,
you know, you have images of Rufus Thomas and Carla Thomas,
and you know so many black musicians who were performing,
you know, on Bill Street and who were sort of
(03:18):
in conversation or even represented and supported by WUDA. Yeah,
back in the forties.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
When you walked, when you walked in, the first picture
you saw was who.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Was bb King And what did you say, and I said, wow,
look at that story. That is a Hooks brought this photograph.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah. And in fact, I was just looking at that
same image in the collection a couple of days ago. What, yes,
the same image Wow? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah. So I think sometimes for a lot of us,
when you see pictures like that, you don't think about
somebody had to take it, you know, I don't know
what it is. We just automatically think it's just a picture,
you know what I'm saying. But somebody took that.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Took that, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, and not
just took it, but they made it. Yeah, you know
what I mean. The main king of an image, the
making of representing someone the way that they wanted to
be represented, right, sort of thinking about BB King collaborating
with the Hooks Brothers, the founding Hoks Brothers, to represent
himself the way that he saw himself and the way
that the Hooks Brothers also saw him.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, because I think he's got Lucille in his own absolutely,
the guitar. The guitar, Okay, let's not be confused. Yeah,
because he's saying about a many For those of you
that know his music, BB King's music you know so,
But yeah, I think that is so interesting because back
in the day, photographers like that and many of us
and probably photographers today try to recreate what photographers back
(04:36):
then because to me, they were the real creators of
picture of that medium. You know that we sometimes don't
appreciate you know, we see those old pictures, but we
don't really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Him, right, maybe for the stories that they hold, Yeah,
you know, to that capacity.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
I feel like they tell stories. I feel like sometimes
those pictures from that era told more stories than what
we tell today. We're so quick with it because we
got iPhones. We just snap and snap, I know I do.
Let me just speak for me. I'm so quick witted.
I snap pictures, you know, and I don't tell stories.
But I love that picture of BB King with his
(05:16):
guitar and how it's telling a story. It's like almost
who he.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Is, Yeah, you know he is. It's indicative of who
he is.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, And even if you didn't know who BB King
was and you saw that picture, you would ask yourself,
probably why does he have that guitar? You know what
I want to get to, I would ask who is that?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah? You know, and that's and that's the most powerful
thing about the collection. You know that the Hooks about
this collection and all of the photographs that are in
this collection and to be you know, to be exact,
like there are about seventy five thousand photographs in this collection.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
So we're talking about and again like just walking through
the decades of black Memphis, you know, from and again
nineteen oh seven to nineteen eighty four, and so you
really get a chance to sell I know, because we
gotta we gotta swallow that, like we gotta let that marinate.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Because we're in Memphis. We talk in Memphis history, Memphis history,
Memphis history, and probably a lot of do you know
what I love about w g I A and about
Memphis too. There's so many documentaries about wud I. There's
so many documentaries that capture the essence of this city
from them to other photographers like Ernest Withers and and
(06:27):
and probably others, but those we know probably more of
because they were probably everywhere. Hooks Brothers everywhere. Yeah, I
mean you talk about people that shot Martin Luther King
and probably presidents and and and you know, the Hooks
Brothers who obviously shot a lot of entertainers, so many
(06:48):
all of the musicians who were signed to Sacks are
in the collection. Wow, all of them.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So, you know. And in fact, I was just meeting
with I don't know if you're familiar with doctor Ernestine Jenkins.
She's a Memphis historian and she's a professor at the
University of Memphis. So she's working with me as a
scholar on this collection. And we were just looking at
a photograph of Ann People's and and talking about Missy
Elliot's reinterpretation of a People's song, you know, the sample
(07:13):
I Can't Stand the Rain, you know, and so and
so thinking about Ann Peoples being signed to High Records, right,
or being a part of High Records, but you know,
performing and performing with them, but also recording that song
here in memphisis Stacks back in the day, you know. Yeah,
and just and and again just thinking about what the
what the photograph communicates, right, you see this beautiful portrait
(07:34):
of Ann People's in the studio and in the studio
at the Hooks Brother studio, right, and she's just she's
just she just has so much pride and joy, right,
and you and you.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Got to think about to the times that they were
living in you know what I'm saying, because they were
not our times today, even though you know, everything aetty
perfect now, but back then they were living through stuff,
riots and all that kind of stuff that we don't
we know nothing about, you know what I'm saying, Not
that we don't have the today, but back then it
was for them life or death.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Right, racial segregation of Memphis, you know, just imagining what
the time was like in the forties, yeah, right, sort
of on the precipice of the civil rights movement in
the fifties and sixties. And so you know, when I
look through when I look at this collection, you know,
that is something that I think deeply about, very deeply about,
And I'm like, you know, what was Memphis like, you know,
for black people in the twenties and the thirties and
the forties, and even just kind of thinking about Memphis
(08:26):
in relation to cities like Harlem, right, and sort of
thinking about the Harlem Renaissance, but also thinking about the
sort of Memphis Renaissance that was happening at the same time.
And even that even predates the Harlem Renaissance to some extent, wow,
by at least a decade.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
M Okay, rich history Memphis has. That is one of
the things you learn to appreciate when you come to
Memphis if you're coming to visit. And you know, I
think it's interesting that, you know a lot of times
when I go over to the National Civil Rights Museum,
how people come from around the world to experience Memphis.
They don't just go there, they go stacks in other places.
(09:01):
And I'm sure to Brooks. So the Brooks Yeah, still
for this collection, when does it debut or has a debut?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Right, so it hasn't debuted, you know. So the Brooks
Museum is actually working in partnership with the Civil Rights
Museum to preserve, conserve, and create scholarship around the collection.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So it's a long term project. Essentially, this is going
to take maybe about twenty or thirty years wow, to
preserve into rehouse and to make accessible to the public
because we really want to engage artists, we want to
engage historians, and we want to engage to general public.
And one of the things that's really interesting about this collection,
because it's so vast and because it's Memphis specific, you
have so many folks as families that are represented in
(09:41):
this collection. Because the Hooks brothers. We're not only photograph
and musicians. Yeah, but they were photographing everybody in Memphis.
They were photographing all of the black high schools in Memphis.
So in fact, my grandmother and my great aunts are
pictured in this collection. Kidding, I'm so serious? How wow? Yeah,
So we're talking about high schools like my grandmother went
to Mananza's, my mom went to Melrose, and so anyone
(10:03):
who went to you know, the black high schools in
Memphis who were born in you know, the fifties, sixties, seventies,
they're photographs. You know, they were probably photographed by the Hooks.
Not probably, they were photographed by the Hucks brothers and
they're in that collection.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Wow. So how does your parents how now that you
are doing this work that it's almost like you were
To me, it sounds like you were drawn to it
exactly because you're doing work, and then you see your family.
How did your family? How did they deal with that?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I mean, you know, my mom is extremely supportive, and
you know, she's just she's she's always surprised, like whenever
I tell her about something that I find in the
collection that you know, might connect to our family history.
She's like, Oh, I want to see it. Yeah, you know,
Oh I need to tell you know, Oh I need
to tell my cousin, Sue.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
You got to tell the family.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
You got to tell the family about it, you know.
And so yeah, I mean, so you know, my mom
and my dad rest recipes. My dad passed away last year.
My dad was like the biggest, my biggest supporter, especially
for photography. I'm a photographer as well. I have a
you know, sort of background in photography, but also I
have been studying photography for maybe about the last decade.
So you know, my parents are huge supporters of what
(11:11):
I'm doing, and they're just so so proud.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Wow. Okay, So I am Stormy. It is the pulse
and always keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our
community and just loving the history that is Memphis, you
know what I'm saying. So when you step in Memphis,
you step, put your foot, your toe across the lines,
You're in history basically. I mean, there's so much rich
(11:33):
history from the Mississippi Sippy to you know, down straight
down the road. You know, there's so much history here
and just you know, seeing even everything that you see
the landscape and all of that, but to think about
all the pictures that have been taken. So I'm sure
there are a lot of pictures of the landscape of
the Lips that the Hook's brothers took as well. Absolutely,
(11:54):
I mean, and even Bill Street.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You know, we think about the history of Bill Street
and thinking about a sort of Robert Church scene here
purchasing Bill Street in eighteen ninety and renovating us. Yeah,
you know this he was the memphisis and maybe even
the United States's first black millionaire. And so to purchase
this district and revitalize it and you know, sort of
designated as a as a safe haven for black people, right,
(12:18):
and you really see the emergence of black creativity and
black entrepreneurship on Bill Street through this collection, you know,
so I guess see. And again, I mean, you know,
the Hooks brothers they were trained by the first black
photographers in Memphis, who were James P.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Newton.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And this was in the eighteen nineties, and so James P.
Newton and his brother, Charles Newton, they moved to Chicago
and the Hooks brothers took over their studio from there,
and then you know, they just continue the sort of
interest in photography and then passion for photography and the
passion for representing Black Memphis through photographs.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Wow, talking to Rose you guys over from the Brooks Museum,
and how much did you learn or have you learned
since you started working on this project?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
A wealth of knowledge? It sounds like it's just you know,
isn't I can sit with these photographs for hours, and
I do I start my day, you know, I'll come
into the museum and I'll answer some emails, and then
you know, by ten eleven o'clock, like I'm immersed in
the collection, I'll put my phone, LL do not disturb,
and I'll just you know, just really call through images
and just sit with certain images that speak louder than
others and just read them, you know, and feel them,
(13:22):
because there's there's almost a sensorial quality about the image.
You know, it's it's speaking to me in certain ways,
or it feels like or you know what I mean,
it's like what the Hooks Brothers or who the Hooks
Brothers photograph reminds me of someone or something that that's familiar.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Yeah, yeah, no, I get it, I get it. How
do you even choose if there's how many did you
say pictures. It's a lot of picture a lot of photographs. Yeah, yeah,
and I'm sure a lot of them are fabulous.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
They are they are They're all I mean, they're all fantastic,
they're all beautiful.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Is there some place we can go and see these?
And when you guys get I mean, tell me girl.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Right, I'll tell you because you know, so, I am
working toward an exhibition that's going to open at our
new museum. If people don't know, the Brooks Museum is
moving from our current location in Overton Park. We're moving downtown.
We're going to We're changing our name to the Memphis
ar Museum. So we're going to be the city's art museum.
And you know, when we open in twenty twenty six,
December twenty twenty six, the Huks Brothers exhibition that's going
(14:20):
to open, you know why at the time, that'll be
here before you know exactly. I mean, time is speeding up, yeah,
you know.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
It is just a couple of days ago was the
shortest day recorded in history.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
They seriously okay, I felt it. Okay, I felt.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
It, like what right? But yeah, so, and I imagine though,
if you got to go through seventy five. I mean
time does kind of. It doesn't stand today, It's not standstill.
So you know, I'm moving as quickly as I can.
And what I can say, you know, is really sort
of thinking about this collection and thinking about the exhibition
that I'm curating, you know, as an introduction to the
Hugs Brothers, to introduce our community folks who are aware
(14:58):
of the Hugs Brothers, but to reintroduce them to our community, right,
to reintroduce the Ux Brothers, or to introduce the X
Brothers to our nation, right, and sort of.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Thinking about this is going to be historical. Yeah, I
mean it really is. I can just go on and
on and on. But you know, there are going to
be one hundred photographs, you know, on view in this exhibition,
just to give people a sample.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Will they be big, They will be.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Various sizes, yeah, so small media.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
No.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Wait, So we're going to have an exhibition on view
at the Brooks or at the Memphis Art Museum in
twenty twenty six. We're also going to have an exhibition
on view at the Civil Ars Museum because we're working
in partnership. Like I said, I love it, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I love it, and I just think that. Yeah, that's
where it should be both places. I mean, this is yeah,
because people will want to come from all over the world.
Are there any pictures that have well, I'm sure there
are that have not made it to I guess public
view or national statement stages.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, so many.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I mean, you know what about pictures. Did they take
pictures of Doctor King as well?
Speaker 2 (15:52):
They you know what, I have not come across an
image of Doctor King yet in the collection, but I'm
sure it's there. Wow, I'm sure it's there.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
And maybe of the marches yeap of the march yep,
and definitely in the sixties. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
So okay, you got a lot to do, lots to do.
The storm come on, okay, so tell me tell me
that the family members of the Hooks that are still around,
have you been working with them to you know, kind
of bring this thing to life as well.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah. I've been in conversation with Brent Hooks, who he's
a little bit older.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, so he and I he's very excited about, you know,
about this collection, the fact that we have it, and
the fact that we're preserving it and making it accessible
to you know, our community. So he and I are
always in conversation about you know, about sort of ideas
that he has and how we can even intersperse different
programming that ideas that he has in mind for when
we open the show, you know, at the new museum.
So we're we're always in dialogue.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Okay, okay. Any other family members, like the older ones
from the family, Yeah, come out to you know, explain
pictures or tell you about the brothers and in I
guess in connection with the pictures that you're watching or seeing, right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So that's what I'm working on now, And that's the
next piece is get into touch with some of the
older you know Hooks family folks who are in their eighties,
so that I can sit down and chat with them
about you know, what we have and wanting to get
their insight and wanting to get there you know sort
of even their ore history is around witnessing, you know,
perhaps some of the younger, the younger Hooks brothers photographers
before they passed away in the late seventies. Yeah, you know,
(17:18):
so folks who might remember that.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Mm hm. So so you're still waiting for people to
contact you because I'm sure there's probably somebody listening that
could do that, and would you want them to maybe
email or something.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I would love for them to email me. I know.
I'm also working with, like I said, the Black high
schools in Memphis and getting together with some of the
alumni associations. Yeah, and bringing photographs from the collection, like
you know, maybe even copies of the photographs, right to
just sit down and talk to folks who graduated like
in the sixties and seventies who are still around, who
can talk about the Hux Brothers.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Yeah, man that you know a lot of those folks
listen through all these stations for sure, So somebody's bound
to reach out to you. How would you want them
to do that if hey, if they are listening, well, while.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Right, so so you can feel free to email me.
My email is C. Dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks
Museum dot org. So I'll say it again, see as
in Charlie dot Rose, r Se dot Smith at Brooks
Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Okay, yeah, beautiful.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
What is it about the Hooks Brothers that maybe you
have learned that we don't know? Because I know they
were more than just photography.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, I mean there were artists. I see that very
clearly when I look at the photographs and in the collection. Yeah,
and so you know, one of the things that I
noticed when I look at the photographs, and even when
I think about the founding Hooks brothers, you know, establishing
their business on Bill Street back in nineteen oh seven,
you know, they had a background in painting and they
(18:48):
painted their backdrops, which is really interesting. So they would
paint these you know, sort of elaborate landscapes on their
backdrops and have sitters coming out.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's why they were so good at what they do.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
That's it. That's it, that's it. And the way that
they would play with lighting is really interesting too. And
they would have this soft focus that they used, you know,
photographing their sitters, right, and so you know, to me,
it's it's creativity, it's artistic, that is And I mean,
you know, and I think even just the way that
they thought about beauty, the way that they thought and
sort of saw black men fians as beautiful. I mean,
(19:19):
their slogan was where there's beauty, we take it. Where
there's none, we make it.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
What.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
So you know, they really centered beauty in their practice,
and so much so that you know, in the forties
they started to color their photographs and accentuate certain details
in the photographs of each sitter. Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
So when you as an artist and you when you
see their artistry, now get it what you were saying. Well,
not as well as you do, because I don't know
the whole story, but just hearing what you've said so far,
I get it more so they just the slogan is
really what they did? How do you do that? See?
That's genius marketing, right. I don't even know if they
(20:03):
knew that back then.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
But where there's beauty, where there's beauty, we take it.
Where there's none, we make it, we craft it.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And that is to me, the story of African American
history in America.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I mean, beautiful people. Radio, come on, come on WD
I what stop?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Memphis? Okay, okay, I'm telling you so much history. That's
why I love this place. And just thinking about what
you're you know, you're kind of telling the story about them,
and it's I'm sure the family is very appreciative of
all of this. And you know those folks that are
in those pictures too, are probably going to be I remember,
(20:45):
back when I was in school, we had a guy
who took all of our pictures for school and all
that stuff. You know what I'm saying. It sounds like
the Hooks brothers, but they were not as good. I'm
sure you know what I'm saying. We just showed up
and took a picture. Nobody was drawing backdrops, and you
know what I'm saying. So, and we appreciate what they
did because they did a fabulous job with what they had,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
What I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
But it sounds like they just went above and begunned.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
They exceeded, They exceeded people's expectations and standards. I mean,
you know, I can only imagine you know, Black Memphians
back in the twenties or even in the forties, you know,
looking at their photographs and saying, oh my god, this
is me.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Yeah. And even Bb King the picture that we were
looking at, I bet you Bb that was probably one
of his favorites.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Absolutely, I can only imagine, can only imagine.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, And we're looking forward to seeing this rose. Y'all
got to come on. No, no, I mean, and I
know what. We don't want to rush it because I
know that when it does come together, it's going to
be fabulous. I can't wait because y'all don't do y'all
don't have step over.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
We don't have.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Y'all got it going on over then, you know, and
a well kept secret. I think for some people that
don't appreciate why is that visit that people that live
in a city don't always appreciate the things that they
have in a city, especially when it's free. Because the
Brooks Museum has a day that Memphians can come for free, right,
So why is it that we sometimes don't.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
I don't know why we do that, but we you know,
but I think that you know me, even being on
the show with you, Yeah, it's like just to go
ahead and invite people to come on, come, come on down.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Come on, come on down to the Brooks. Yeah, get
to know it, get to know us.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I mean we have some exciting programming happening, you
know every Thursday, you know, we have events, we have
our late night, we have DJs come in, We'll have
an orchestra that might play, you know. We we've worked
with the Memphis Siphony Orchestra recently. We have a Collider
Rolls exhibition up right now that I site curated, and
I mean, we just have so much going on. It's
just it's rich, it's creative.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
But that's what I love too about you guys. You're
not just talking about artistry, and you're you're making artistry
come to life with all the events. I was over
there the other day, we were meeting with Jeff and
I saw people sitting outside kids. I think it might
have been a Tuesday too, It might have been Tuesday
when the kids were coming. I saw a school bus
outside and I was thinking, man, this has got to
(23:01):
be an amazing time for kids to come and see
what's in the Brooks Museum, learn about what's happening there,
and then come outside. They were on the lawn eating.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Look at that.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
You know, that was just artistry right there.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Somebody could have been not just just snapping photos. Yeah,
you know, seeing children at rest and having fun, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
And so we have a fantastic education department too, so
we were always having events too for young people and
even for a seasoned adults, you know. So that's another
reason why we want, you know, more people to come
out and engage with us and engage.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah. So the hooks back to them, back to the hooks, Yes,
back to the hooks.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Brothers.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
What else can you tell us about them that maybe
some folks don't I imagine though a lot of people
in Memphis know probably more history about it than they
will ever than they've probably shared, you know what I'm saying.
So what is it about them that maybe we don't
Another thing about them that maybe we don't know?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, I mean, you know, the Hooks Brothers, even though
they were Memphis based, they really became well known in
the region and even beyond the region. Like they would
photograph in Chicago, they would photograph in Michigan, they would
photograph in Kansas, so you know, they really had a
traveling practice, which is really interesting, and so that's something
that I've been spending a lot of time looking at.
They also had a photography school, so they taught photography. Wow,
(24:19):
alongside having a studio and running a studio for you know,
through the decades, but they had a photography school where
they were educating young people, you know, young black photographers
and even you know, sort of thinking about as I
mentioned early on, you know, they had a practice that
spans seventy three years. So you really see in this
collection both world wars, you know, World War One, World
War Two. You see office through the Great Depression, you see.
(24:42):
I mean you see the sort of the precursor of
the Civil rights movement and then the civil rights movement. Right.
So you see a lot of these historical historical moments
in the collection. And you know in that they had
this photography school and they were also educating veterans returning
home from war who were interested in photography. Wow.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So they just weren't They weren't just doing it. They
were also teaching teaching them. They were teaching them. Yeah.
The school that they were doing is that something that
still is not.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
It's not still around. It was it was called the
Hooks School of Photography. Wow. And that was in the
forties and fifties.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
So there is a lot, there's a lot, there's a
lot to look at.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Yeah, we'll all of that be a part of.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
The it'll be a part of the experts.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So we're gonna not just see their pictures, We're gonna
learn about them and their gifts and talents as well.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, we will.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
That's it. Yes, this is it. And again I know
the Hook's family is so proud.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah, I mean I just feel I feel honored, you know,
to be stewarting to be in a position to stewart
this kind of collection, I mean, that's really a gym.
And I'm grateful to Rodney Harrington and his you know,
his wife Andrea Harrington. Yeah, they bought the collection and
brought it back to memboos they did, Yeah, yeah, they did.
They stored it that it was in Oxford, Mississippi for
a while, but you know, they wanted it back in Memphis,
(26:00):
and they reached out to the Brooks. They reached out
to the Civil Rights Museum and said, hey, I have
this collection. Can we work something out? And that's what
we're doing now.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Wow, Okay, that is I did not know that. I didn't.
I saw her was it last year at the Freedom
Awards and I didn't. We didn't speak of that. She
didn't say anything, but you know what she did. Okay,
that's enough. I'm about to tell all myself. Anyway, that
(26:32):
is fabulous. Yeah, you guys to hear this story and
to see that Memphis is getting ready to come to
life in a way that we never imagined. And I
can imagine that if it's in Memphis, then it's going
to be a gift to the world too. You're probably
going to have a lot of publications certainly, and newspapers,
(26:52):
the cameras are coming, yeah, all the things.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yeah, and I mean we're working on a catalog too
to accompany the exhibition, so people will have an opportunity
to purt the book and to read, you know, read
more about the Bus brothers.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, okay, that's fabulous. So there is a book about them?
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Well so there isn't yet. I'm working on that as
a part of the exhibition.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Well, this is so exciting. So when you get through
with the book, you're gonna let us know about it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Right, Yeah, So it's gonna it's also gonna it's gonna
debut at the at the new Museum, at the Memphis
ar Museum.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Okay, so we got something to look forward to, so
much to look forward to. You guys, if you are
a member of the Hooks family, or if you're a
member of these schools that Rose has been telling us about,
please contact Rose so she can make you maybe you
might become a part of what you know, what joy
that would be. And for these for the some of
the folks that are in these pictures, for their children
(27:45):
and grandchildren to see them is going to be fabulous.
So tell them again, Rose, how they can get in
touch with you.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Yeah, so please please please please contact me at C
dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Got it. Thank you again for coming back a welcome
storm anytime. Yeah, this has been fabulous. I'm just excited.
I'm excited for the Hooks family. I'm excited for the
Brooks Museum to have this collection. Thankful to the Haringtons
for making it available to the city of Memphis. Is
just it's fabulous And for all the work that you
are doing. God bless you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
I receive it.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Thank you. That is just okay, keep it going, Yeah,
keep it going, Come on there. So yeah, so we
all have something to look forward to next year and
even this year. If you can reach out to Rose
and give her some information. Brooks Museum is where she works.
Tell them again how they can reach your Rose.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yeah, I'm the assistant curator of Photography at the Memphis
Brooks Museum of Art. You can reach me at C.
Dot Rose dot Smith at Brooks Museum dot org.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Got it, all right, Rose, any parting words, anything we
need to know before you go.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You know, I just have to say I just I
love Memphis, you know, really like I love. I'm so
pleased to be back home. I'm from Memphis. I was
away for Memphis for almost for almost twenty years. Wow,
And so this collection brought me back to Memphis, and
I am just I'm just so grateful. I have so
much gratitude and joy to be back in the city. Yeah,
to be you know, reconnected with family members and friends
(29:14):
and meeting new folks and just you know, storting this collection.
And I'm just so excited and elated to just see
how this collection make, you know, make our makes our
community smile. Wow.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, thank you Rose for what you do. Absolutely all right,
all right, thank you all for listening to the show today.
I've had a good time. I hope you have to
Rose from a Brooks Museum.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Thank you again. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Tell them again how they can get in touch with you.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Yeah. So you can reach me at C dot Rose
dot Smith at Brooksmuseum dot org. I'm also on social media.
I'm on Instagram. You can also reach me there at
C dot Rose Smith.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Got it all right, y'all. It is the pulse. I
am Stormy. We keep our fingertips on the pulse of
our community. We will see you next week, same time,
same station, God bless you have a great week.
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