Alumni Spotlight: Howard Cash

Howard T. Cash built his artistic legacy behind the camera. A Los Angeles native, Cash began his formal arts education at Los Angeles City College, where he studied photography and visual arts, laying the foundation for a career that would span more than five decades. Emerging in the 1970s, he developed a distinctive documentary style centered on culture, identity and the lived experiences of people across the African diaspora.

Cash’s early work took him to West Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana, where he documented everyday life, cultural celebrations and intimate portraits that reflected dignity, resilience and joy. Over the years, his photographs have been exhibited in galleries and cultural institutions in the United States and internationally, earning recognition for their storytelling power and human depth. His work is included in respected collections such as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where his images contribute to the preservation and celebration of Black history and culture.

Today, Cash is regarded as a fine-art and documentary photographer whose lens has captured generations of community life. His visual artistry has left a lasting imprint on contemporary documentary photography. We are proud to call Howard an LACC alumni and his gallery of work can be viewed here https://howardtcashphotography.com.