Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jamel Shabazz picked up his first camera at the age of 15 and began documenting his communities, inspired by photographers such as Leonard Freed, James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including those at the Brooklyn Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Among Shabazz’s publications are Back in the Days (2001) and A Time Before Crack (2005). He has worked as a teaching artist at institutions such as the International Center of Photography and the Bronx Museum’s Teen Council youth program, and was honored at the 2018 Gordon Parks Foundation Awards.