Robert A. Sengstacke

Robert A. Sengstacke
Sengstacke circa 1970.
BornMay 29, 1943
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 2017(2017-03-07) (aged 73)
Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
Resting placeChicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
EducationHyde Park High School
University of Chicago Lab Schools
Bethune-Cookman College (attended)
OccupationPhotojournalist
Years active1960s–2015
Employers
  • Chicago Daily Defender
  • Muhammad Speaks
  • Fisk University
  • Memphis Tri-State Defender
  • Eastman Kodak Company
  • Sengstacke Enterprises Inc.
Known forNotable photography of the civil rights era.
MovementCivil Rights Movement (United States)
Spouses
  • Veela Gonzales[1] (divorced)
Jacquelyn Spencer Sengstacke
​
​
(m. 1991)​
[2]
Children6
Parents
FamilyRobert Sengstacke Abbott (great–uncle)
Awards
  • NNPA Awards
  • Superior Public Service Award
  • John B. Russwurm Award
  • Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award
  • Gordon Park Award
  • Cannon 40D Award

Robert Abbott Sengstacke (May 29, 1943 – March 7, 2017), also known as Bobby Sengstacke, was an African-American photojournalist during the Civil Rights Movement for the Chicago Defender in Chicago, Illinois. Sengstacke was well known for his famous portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent civil rights leaders. Sengstacke inherited the family–owned Sengstacke Newspaper Company.[3][4][5] After retiring from journalism in 2015, Sengstacke moved to Hammond, Indiana where he lived until his death due to a respiratory illness in 2017 at age 73.[5]

  1. ^ Chicago Defender, 2012
  2. ^ NABJ Chicago - Remembering Famed Photographer Robert "Bobby" A. Sengstacke - March 2017
  3. ^ Datcher, Mary L. (March 9, 2017). "Prominent Photojournalist and Former Chicago Defender Editor, Robert A. Sengstacke Dies At 73". Chicago Defender.
  4. ^ "Robert A. Sengstacke, 73, Chicago Defender Editor, Photographer". Hyde Park Herald. March 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Datcher, Mary L. (March 2017). "Robert 'Bobby' Sengstacke: A game changer forever". Pittsburgh Courier.