Ruth Beckford

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In 1980, Careth Reid purchased Joseph's collection of negatives and personal papers, and nearly four decades later, a labor of love comes to fruition with the publication of The Picture Man. Reid, a lifelong educator and champion of community service in the Bay Area, partnered with longtime friend Ruth Beckford, a dancer, teacher, choreographer, actor, and author. Reid, a native of Berkeley, was the recipient of San Francisco State University's Alumna of the Year Award in 1990 and is also a member of the university's Hall of Fame. Beckford, a lifelong resident of Oakland, is featured in a downtown mural of the community's artists and was also celebrated as an Outstanding Alumni of Oakland Technical High School in 2015. Together, they tell the story of the Bay Area's African American community through the eye and lens of one of its own.