Photos honoring local Black vets in The Orchard

Noted photographer Johnny Crawford took pictures in Jackson, Ga.

In celebration of Black History Month, an exhibit of photographs honoring local African American Vietnam veterans is on display in Jackson, Georgia, in the area now known as “The Orchard.”

The photographs were taken by Jackson native and award-winning photographer Johnny Crawford, a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographer.

“Last year, during Black History Month, Johnny’s portraits were displayed using vets from around the state,” Jackson Mayor Carlos Duffey said in a Facebook post promoting the photo exhibit.

“This year, local Jackson vets are being displayed during Black History Month. I watched Johnny Crawford photograph these men, and I sat and listened to their stories of how they endured war and made it home. It was one of the best days of my life. I have a new level of appreciation for each of them!”

The photographs of the Butts County veterans have been added to the Georgia Gallery on the Vietnam Black Soldiers Portrait Project’s website.

Crawford, founder and director of the project, says its mission is “to educate Americans about the Black men and women who served, suffered, and died, fighting for democracy and civil rights on behalf of the people in South Vietnam, even though they did not have the same rights themselves as Americans.”

Crawford has photographed Black veterans in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, New York, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Jackson High School, Crawford was editor of The Red Letter and credits journalism teacher Annette Williams for putting a camera in his hands and telling him to learn to use it.

A photography internship with the AJC led to a full-time staff position for Crawford. He became an award-winning staff photographer and worked on the newspaper staff for just shy of 29 years. During that time, he photographed five U.S. presidents, three Olympic Games, Nelson Mandela’s trip to America, more than 500 college and professional games, and 25 years of NASCAR.

Crawford holds a master’s degree in photojournalism from Ohio University, a bachelor’s degrees in psychology and public relations from Morehouse College.

COURTESY JOSHUA CRAWFORD Johnny Crawford is shown inside his office. In celebration of Black History Month, Crawford is displaying his photos of Jackson veterans in an area known as The Orchard.