Black Is Beautiful: Govinda Gallery Live Spotlights LaMonte McLemore’s Portrait Photography
By • January 13, 2026 0 365
By Tom Turco
While it is self-evident that “Black is beautiful,” it was once necessary to assert that notion vigorously to drive it home for a mass U.S. audience. The bold images captured by photographer LaMonte McLemore played a pivotal role in that transformation, and his photos resonate to this day.
Bonita JET Beauty of The Week. Photo by LaMonte McLemore.
The coffee table book “Black Is Beautiful: JET Beauties of the Week,” subtitled “The Photography of LaMonte McLemore,” is indeed a beauty. Published in 2024 by Brooklyn-based powerHouse Books, it shows rather than tells with his evocative images of Black women in the 1960s and ’70s.
The book’s quality is top shelf. Printed on a heavy stock of paper, McLemore’s high-resolution, lushly saturated photographs practically jump off the page. One word to sum it up: Stunning.
The editor of “Black Is Beautiful,” Govinda Gallery founder Chris Murray, who curates Govinda Gallery Live, hosted the latest installment of the series on Nov. 11, an evening of storytelling that focused on McLemore, his work and its cultural impact.
Michelle by LaMonte McLemore.
Murray shared a story about the book’s genesis, when McLemore visited Govinda Gallery, which stood at 34th and Prospect Streets in Georgetown. The gallery, which established itself as one of the most innovative contemporary galleries in the country, just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
“LaMonte walked into my gallery more than a dozen years ago. He showed me some travel photos, beach landscapes from all over the world. Then he mentioned he was a founding member of the 5th Dimension, and that he was a photographer for Jet magazine.”
They had a great conversation, kept talking and decided after a time they should do a book together.
The 5th Dimension, with LaMonte McLemore.
“Turns out, he had more than 40,000 photos from his Jet sessions over the years, and they were all on slides that had to be scanned. We got some help with that piece of it, then went about selecting images for the book,” Murray recounted, noting that it was a painstaking process because the photos were of such high quality.
Jet magazine, founded in 1951 in Chicago by John H. Johnson, was the seminal African American weekly. Its mission: “Serve as a news and entertainment digest for the Black community.” It did just that during its 63-year run.
Well known for its coverage of the civil rights movement, Jet featured articles on culture, fashion and celebrities. According to Johnson, the name Jet (styled in all caps) exemplified fast and black. Its sister magazine, founded six years earlier, was Ebony.
In 1952, Jet began presenting a full-page “Beauty of the Week” feature: a photograph of an African American woman in a swimsuit, along with her name, place of residence, profession, hobbies and interests.
Discussing McLemore’s legacy, Murray provided a captivating deep dive into the story behind the book. It was a fascinating glimpse into a transformative era in U.S. history, when the civil rights movement was making headway on multiple fronts and Eurocentric concepts of beauty were being upended.
The full house at Jenn Crovato’s 1310 Kitchen & Bar in the Georgetown Inn was engaged throughout the evening, which began with music from the period by artists such as James Brown, Al Green and Stevie Wonder. The crowd chatted and enjoyed refreshments before digging into a sumptuous homestyle meal.
Murray talked about his favorite images and told vivid stories about several of the women in the photos. McLemore’s mastery of the lens is on full display in the book; few words are needed to convey a powerful message.
Capturing a vibrant and enduring era of American culture, “Black Is Beautiful” includes a perceptive forward by Murray and compelling essays by former Jet senior editor Sylvia Flanagan, renowned artist Mickalene Thomas and trailblazing journalist and TV personality Jayne Kennedy. The essays offer illuminating observations about the cultural significance of McLemore’s work, placing it in historical context and describing what it meant to each author personally.
Jayne Kennedy, Carlotta Hester and Zaire Overton, Jayne’s daughter.
Kennedy, the evening’s guest speaker, mesmerized the audience. The first Black woman to be crowned Miss Ohio USA, in 1970, the award-winning actress, first-ever female sportscaster, corporate spokesperson and supermodel discussed her lifelong collaboration with McLemore as his most photographed subject. She emphasized the relentless push needed to achieve success at a time when Black women were routinely dismissed due to the color of their skin.
Still youthful and fit, Kennedy said her only regret is that it took so long for Black women to break through. She spoke with great affection about her friend McLemore, now 86, who treated all with respect while accomplishing so much as a musician and a photographer over more than 40 years. Her book, “Plain Jayne: A Memoir,” recently published by Andscape, “offers an unflinchingly honest account of Kennedy’s rise in Hollywood and beyond.”
Murray has spearheaded more than 250 exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide.
In 2027, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will unveil a major exhibition of McLemore’s photography he organized. The show will cover all the facets of the photographer’s wide-ranging work, which spans culture, fashion, music and other areas.
Although Govinda Gallery — the top gallery in the world specializing in photography relating to musical artists — closed its physical doors in 2011, it lives on via Murray’s other initiatives: pop-up gallery installations, the Govinda Gallery Live series and numerous book projects.
Murray has authored, co-authored or contributed to 25 books, including “Elvis at 21,” “The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schultes,” “Days of Hope and Dreams: An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen,” “Bob Dylan: NYC 1961-1964,” “Knockout: The Art of Boxing,” “George Harrison: Be Here Now” and “Patti Smith: American Artist.”
