Condolences: Chi Modu (Photographer/Artist) Passing at 54 years of Age #photographer #chimodu #African #blackhistory #journalist

Bio Courtesy of: The History Makershttps://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/chi-modu

Photojournalist Chi Modu was born on July 7, 1966 in Aronbizoug, Nigeria. In 1969, Modu and his family moved to the United States and he graduated from the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey in 1984. He earned his B.S. degree in economics from The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers in 1989. Modu also received a certificate in photojournalism and documentary photography from the International Center of Photography in New York, New York in 1992.

His first position as a photographer was with the African American newspaper the New York Amsterdam News in Harlem. In 1991, he was hired by The Source magazine, where he worked as the director of photography. Modu’s photographs were chosen for over thirty different covers. Modu photographed some of the biggest names in hip-hop at the time, including Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G. He left The Source in 1997 to work as the co-creative director at C-Squared Studio. During this time, Modu became interested in digital photography sharing and founded diverseimages.com in 1998, which later evolved into ephotos. He also worked for a variety of marketing companies, including as the chief executive officer for REBRAND, as a digital strategist for DI Digital, and as a brand strategist for Diverse Insights. In 2006, Modu joined Diverse Images, Inc. as the chief digital strategist and remained there until 2009. Following his departure from Diverse Images, Inc., Modu began working for DOTGO as a digital strategy consultant. He founded ephotos in 2012, with the goal of making the world’s images accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

Nigeria- These well dressed young men wait in the back of a church in Nigeria for Sunday school to begin. (Photo by Chi Modu/diverseimages)