Robert H. McNeill

**Robert H. McNeill** (Disamba 19, 1917 - Mayu 27, 2005)  wani mai ɗaukar hoto ne Ba'amurke wanda ya rubuta rayuwar Ba-Amurke. "A cikin shekarar 1930s da 40s, duk lokacin da aka yi wani taron siyasa, zamantakewa, addini ko al'umma a cikin al'ummar baƙaƙen fata na Washington, Robert H. McNeill yana can don daukar hoto." 

## Rayuwar farko da ilimi
An haifi McNeill a Washington, DC : mahaifinsa William C. McNeill likita ne kuma malamin likita, kuma mahaifiyarsa Mary Alice (née Wheeler) McNeill malamin makarantar DC ne kuma memba na Hukumar Ilimi.  Ya gano sha'awar daukar hoto a matsayin dalibin makarantar sakandare a Dunbar High School, inda innarsa Bertha Clay McNeill ta koyar. Ta ba shi kyamararsa ta farko kuma ta ƙarfafa aikinsa.  

## Sana'a

### Ilimi
A matsayin dan shekara 18 da haihuwa a Jami'ar Howard ta Washington, McNeill ya dauki hoton gwarzon dan wasan Olympics na shekarar 1936 Jesse Owens a lokacin ziyararsa bayan wasannin Olympics a harabar. Ya sayar da hoton ga jaridun Amurkawa guda biyu na gida da kuma duk jaridun DC guda huɗu na yau da kullun na "jaridun" na yau da kullun, waɗanda ke da iyakacin ɗaukar hoto na al'ummar Afirka-Amurka.  Wannan wani muhimmin lokaci ne a cikin aikinsa. Bayan ya halarci Jami'ar Howard na tsawon shekaru biyu a matsayin dalibi na farko na likitanci, ya shiga Cibiyar Hoto na New York inda ya sauke karatu a shekerar 1938. 

### New York
Birnin New York fili ne mai albarka don batutuwan daukar hoto da kwarjini ga McNeill. Ya dauki hoton 'yan rawa a Savoy Ballroom, mai zane-zane E. Simms Campbell da Lionel Hampton da Benny Goodman (bincike don shahararren Carnegie Hall Concert na 1938 ) da sauransu.

Yayin da yake cibiyar, McNeill ya sami labarin cewa mujallar *Fortune* tana neman hotunan "ma'aikatan cikin gida, galibi baƙar fata, waɗanda ke taruwa a kan ɓangarorin tituna a kowace rana don sayar da aikinsu ga mafi girman kasuwa."  McNeill yana haɓaka salon kansa na daukar hoto yayin da yake juxtapped hotuna na ma'aikatan baƙar fata tare da kewaye; misali, mata uku da wani mutum a tsaye a ƙarƙashin hoton fim da aka rubuta "Make a Wish". A matsayin wani ɓangare na aikin, McNeill ya sami damar bin Bessie Windstown yayin da ta tsaya jiran wani lungu don neman aiki mai yiwuwa, ta hanyar tattaunawar da ta yi da wata farar uwar gida daga Bronx akan albashinta na sa'a zuwa gidan ma'aikacin, inda ya sami damar ɗaukar hotonta tana goge ƙasa akan hannayenta da gwiwoyi. A ƙarshe, *Fortune* bai yi amfani da hotunan McNeill ba; labarinsu na ƙarshe, "Matsalar Bawa", ya kwatanta labarin daga ra'ayin masu aiki. McNeill ya sami damar buga makalar "Kasuwar Bawan Bronx" a cikin *Flash!* , Mujallar da aka yi baƙar fata a Washington da NYC.  Ya koma Washington a shekarar 1938 kuma ya kafa kansa a matsayin mai daukar hoto mai zaman kansa.

### Virginia
A wannan shekarar, aikin McNeill ya zo da hankali ga Sterling Brown, wani malami a Jami'ar Howard da kuma Editan Harkokin Negro na Shirin Mawallafa na Tarayya . Brown yana ƙaddamar da abin da za a sani da *Negro a nazarin Virginia* . Aikin ya kasance na musamman domin yana da "ma'aikatan bincike baƙar fata wanda masanin kimiyyar Cibiyar Hampton Roscoe Lewis ya jagoranta"; Manufar ita ce rubuta "ƙarni uku na tarihin baƙar fata ta hanyar maɓuɓɓuka daban-daban kamar labarun tsohon bawa, ƙididdigar tattalin arziƙi, da hotuna." 

McNeill ya shafe mafi yawan watan Satumban shekarar 1938 yana tafiya a matsayin mai ba da shawara ba tare da biya ba ta cikin jihar Virginia shi kaɗai a cikin wani baƙar fata mai launin fata tare da faranti na Amurka. Tare da hotuna 160 don kyamarar Graphic ɗinsa mai sauri da ƴan nadi na 35&nbsp;mm ga Leica aro, matashin mai daukar hoto ya kasance mai cikakken hukunci game da harbe-harbensa.  A cikin wadannan makonni uku, ya yi fim din ma'aikata a ayyukansu daga mafi ƙasƙanci zuwa masu matsakaicin matsakaici. Ya ci karo da ma'aikatan taba, masu dogon ruwa, da ma'aikatan banki.

Kaɗan daga cikin Hotunan Almara na McNeill na rayuwar baƙar fata a cikin jihar an buga su a ƙarshe a *Virginia: Jagora ga Tsohon Dominion* da kuma duniyar da ba ta ganuwa ga yawancin Amurkawa, *The Negro a Virginia*, a cikin shekarar 1940.

### Washington, DC
A cikin shekarun 1930 zuwa 1940, McNeill ya ba da tarihin rayuwar Ba'amurke Ba'amurke a Washington, DC. Ya dauki hotunan abubuwan da suka faru don Boy da Girl Scouts, YMCA baƙar fata da YWCA, da kuma Ƙungiyar Ƙwararrun Ƙwararrun Afirka. Ya rubuta bukukuwan aure, kotillions, kammala karatun digiri, tarurruka, bikin bayar da kyaututtuka, da baftisma; ɗaya daga cikin shahararrun hotunansa shine na baftisma da yawa da ministan Pentikostal Daddy Grace yayi.Ya ba da kulawa ta musamman ga **' &#x5B; &#x5D;</sup> tafiyar da rayuwarsu ta yau da kullun - mai ice, mai gyaran gashi, ma'aikata a kasuwar kusurwa, masu motsi, da samari suna karanta littattafan ban dariya a bakin titi. 

Bayan nasararsa da hoton Jesse Owens, McNeill ya ci gaba da ba da gudummawa ga jaridun baƙar fata a duk faɗin ƙasar. Yana da ido ga muhimman abubuwan da suka faru a cikin al'ummar Afirka ta Kudu, kuma yana da kunne don koyo inda abubuwa ke faruwa. "Mutane za su ba ni shawarwari da jagora; sanin cewa ni mai daukar hoto ne, za su kira ni," in ji McNeill.    .

McNeill ya dauki hoton shahararrun da talakawa. Ya sadu da "al'amuransa suna kai tsaye suna daukar nauyin hoton gaba daya. Babu wani abu da ke janye hankali daga babban taron.  Jerin shahararrun ya hada da Joe Lewis, Duke Ellington, Hattie McDaniel, Ella Fitzgerald, Eleanor da Franklin Roosevelt. Ya kama Bill "Bojangles" Robinson a cikin aikin daga fuka-fuki na Earle ba zai iya sayen tikitin gaba ba.Ya kama bude ofishin <sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">**' &#x5B; &#x5D; T Street a Washington, na farko tare da ma'aikatan baƙar fata, da kuma bude ofishin Washington na Ƙungiyar Ƙasa don Ci gaban Mutane masu launi . Ya kasance a wurin kuma ya rubuta tabbacin William Hastie a matsayin gwamnan tsibirin Budurwa. Ya rubuta yunƙurin yancin ɗan adam na haɓaka a cikin shekarar 1940s. 

A lokacin yakin duniya na biyu, McNeill ya yi aiki a cikin wani kamfani na doka (594th Am Ord Co), wanda ya kasance sananne ga sojojin Amurka na Afirka;An ajiye shi a Alabama da Guadalcanal yawancin lokacin  a matsayin Sajan na farko na duk kamfaninsa na Ba'amurke. Ya bar Soja a 1945 a matsayin Laftanar Na Biyu da aka ba shi aiki a karshen yakin. Ya kuma tattara bayanan hoto na sirri na abubuwan da ya faru a cikin Soja.

Lokacin da ya koma Washington, ya ci gaba da kasuwancin hoto, Sabis na Hoto na McNeill. Asusun Kwalejin United Negro ne ya umarce shi da ya rubuta shirye-shiryen ilimin tsofaffin sojoji a kwalejojin Negro goma sha ɗaya. 

### Aikin gwamnati
A cikin shekarar 1950, McNeill ya zama mai ɗaukar hoto na gwamnati na Ma'aikatar Tsaro.  A cikin shekarar 1956, James Steven “Steve” Wright ya kawo McNeill zuwa Ma’aikatar Harkokin Wajen Amurka a matsayin mai daukar hoto.  Wright ya fara ne a matsayin manzo-chauffeur a cikin Hukumar Agajin Gaggawa ta Tarayya na Ayyukan Jama'a, amma Hyman Greenberg, ya gane basirarsa a matsayin mai daukar hoto, ya dauki Wright da farko a matsayin "mataimakin daukar hoto" kuma ya canza shi da sauri zuwa mataimakin mai daukar hoto. Greenberg da sauransu sun taimaka wajen rushe shingen launin fata ga Wright kuma a shekara ta 1954, Wright ya zama Babban Jami'in Harkokin Kayayyakin Kayayyakin Kayayyakin Hoto, a Sashen Harkokin Wajen. McNeill ya kasance mai cin gajiyar manufofin Wright na bayar da ayyuka ga duk wanda yake samuwa a kowane lokaci, wanda ya bai wa duk masu ɗaukar hoto dama daidai a sashen. A ƙarshe McNeill ya gaji Wright a matsayin Babban Shugaban Reshen Hoto kuma ya yi ritaya daga Sashen Gwamnati a shekarar 1978 a wannan matsayi. A matsayin mai daukar hoto mai daukar hoto a Jiha, McNeill an yaba shi da ƙirƙirar hotuna na hukuma na Sakatarorin Jiha Dean Rusk, Henry Kissinger, da Cyrus Vance. 

A cikin shekarar 1997, an zaɓi McNeill a matsayin Mai ɗaukar hoto na Shekara ta Ƙungiyar Kamara ta Fotocraft ta Washington.  A cikin 1998 ya sami lambar yabo ta Maurice Sorrell Lifetime Achievement Award daga EXPOSURE GROUP, Ƙungiyar Masu daukar hoto na Amurka. 

## nune-nunen
A cikin 'yan shekarun nan, Hotunan McNeill sun kasance sun baje ko'ina saboda kokarin da MacArthur Fellowship Award Winner Deborah Willis, wanda, yayin da yake aiki tare da Smithsonian's African-American Museum Project, ya gane fasaha da hangen nesa na McNeill.

An gabatar da aikinsa a cikin shekarar 1983 da 1984 a cikin A Century of Black Photographers,  wani nunin balaguron balaguro na ƙasa wanda Cibiyar Zane ta Rhode Island ta dauki nauyinsa.

A cikin 1985, an nuna hotunansa a Chicago da Los Angeles a matsayin wani ɓangare na baje kolin *Baƙi mai daukar hoto: Ra'ayin Amurka* . A Washington, DC, an baje kolin aikinsa a Makarantar Sumner a 1989 da kuma a Gidan Tarihi na Anacostia na Smithsonian Institution a 1991.

Har ila yau, aikinsa wani ɓangare ne na nunin 1992 Don Cimma Waɗannan Haƙƙoƙin, maƙalar daukar hoto kan rarrabuwa a Washington. 

A cikin 1994 da 1995, an nuna hotunansa a cikin nunin *<nowiki/>'Yanci Cikin Kanmu*, a Gidan Tarihi na Ƙasar Amirka. 

A cikin 1996, an nuna babban aikin aikinsa a cikin *Kayayyakin Kayayyakin Kayayyakin*, babban nunin Cibiyar Smithsonian na Tarihin Tarihi da Al'adun Amurkawa na Afirka. 

A cikin kaka 1997, Hotunan McNeill na unguwar kuruciyarsa sun kafa wani babban yanki na Aikin Tunawa da Titin Tarihi na Washington Historical Society. 

Hotunansa na Washington a cikin 1930s da 40s an nuna su a cikin shirye-shiryen talabijin na gida da kuma Gidan Talabijin na Nishaɗi na Black, kuma sun kasance abin da aka mayar da hankali ga shirin talabijin na jama'a na Jamus a farkon 1998. Hotonsa na 1938 "Yi Wish" da kuma hoton 1938 na wani ma'aikacin manomi, wanda aka ɗauka don aikin WPA *The Negro a Virginia*, wani ɓangare ne na Smithsonian's "Oh Freedom! Koyar da 'Yancin Bil'adama na Afirka ta Amirka ta hanyar fasahar Amirka a gidan yanar gizon Smithsonian".  Ana iya ganin waɗannan da sauran Hotunan McNeill a cikin kasida na Gidan Tarihi na Fasaha na Amurka na Smithsonian. 

Hotunan McNeill sun kasance muhimmiyar hanya ga fasalin Mujallar *Washington Post* Hasken baya, wanda ke nuna lokuta na musamman a tarihin Washington.

McNeill yayi magana kuma yayi lacca akan Washington a cikin 1930s da 40s, gami da fitowa a gidan rediyon Jama'a na ƙasa. Ya kuma kasance malami kuma alkali ga gasar hoto don Babban Majalisar Kula da Kyamara ta Washington.

Ayyuka na baya-bayan nan masu dauke da hotonsa sune:

* Sanya Kyau: Hotunan Afirka na Afirka daga 1890s zuwa Present, littafin Deborah Willis da nunin balaguro, wanda ya buɗe a Makarantar Tish na Arts, Jami'ar New York (Oktoba 2009) kuma an rufe shi a Gidan Tarihi na Fine Arts na Virginia (Yuli 2014). 
* Smithsonian Museum of American Art: Art Ba-Amurke: Harlem Renaissance, Zaman Lafiyar Jama'a, da Bayan, Afrilu 27 - Satumba 3, 2012  

Ana kuma gabatar da hotunansa a cikin gidan kayan gargajiya na nuna *tikiti na zamani: Jacob Jeri na ƙaura na titin Arewa*, Afrilu 3-Satumba 7, 2015. 

Zaɓin aikin McNeill yana kan baje kolin a Gidan Tarihi na Fine Arts na Virginia a Richmond. Nunin shine *Robert McNeill 1938: Hoton Gari na Rayuwar Ba'amurke a Virginia* kuma yana gudana daga Nuwamba 16, 2019 zuwa Mayu 26, 2020.

## Rayuwa ta sirri
Robert H. McNeill ya mutu a ranar 25 ga Mayu, 2005, saboda matsalolin ciwon sukari. McNeill ya yi aure sau uku. Aurensa na farko ya ƙare da saki kuma ya yi takaba sau biyu. Yana da 'ya'ya biyu, Robert McNeill Jr. da Susan McNeill. 

## Manazarta