Sharon Farmer

{{infobox officeholder

| name = Sharon Farmer

| image =

| caption =

| office = Chief Official White House Photographer

| term_start = September 1998

| term_end = January 20, 2001

| president = Bill Clinton

| predecessor = Bob McNeely

| successor = Eric Draper

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|6|10}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| occupation = Photojournalist

| alma_mater = Ohio State University

}}

Sharon Camille Farmer (born June 10, 1951){{cite web|url=http://www.otesa.com/pdfs/profilesandbios/Profile%20Sharon%20Farmer%20African-American%20National%20Biography.pdf|title=Profile Sharon Farmer African-American National Biography|first=Henry Louis|last=Gates|author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr.|accessdate=September 30, 2017}} is an American photographer. She was the first African-American woman to be hired as a White House photographer{{Cite book|title = Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream|url = https://archive.org/details/ruggedwatersblac00dawk|url-access = registration|publisher = August Press LLC|date = January 1, 2003|isbn = 9780963572073|language = en|first = Wayne|last = Dawkins}}{{Cite book|title = The Complete Encyclopedia of African American History|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UsKHCgAAQBAJ|publisher = Visible Ink Press|date = June 1, 2015|isbn = 9781578595839|language = en|first = Jessie Carney|last = Smith|first2 = Lean'tin|last2 = Bracks|first3 = Linda T.|last3 = Wynn}} and the first African American and first female to be Director of the White House Photography office.{{Cite web|title = Meet White House Photographer, Sharon Farmer|url = http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/kids/inside/html/fall99/html/farmer.html|website = clinton4.nara.gov|accessdate = November 12, 2015}}{{Cite news|title = Ellsworth J. Davis, first black photographer for The Washington Post, dies at 86|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ellsworth-j-davis-first-black-photographer-for-the-washington-post-dies-at-86/2013/08/19/89241e36-08de-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = August 19, 2013|access-date = November 20, 2015|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US|first = Emily|last = Langer}}

Biography

Farmer was born and raised in Washington, D.C.,{{Cite news|title = Black photographers tell their stories|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/black-photographers-tell-their-stories/2011/11/22/gIQATij64N_blog.html|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = November 22, 2011|access-date = November 20, 2015|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US|first = Macy L.|last = Freeman}} and graduated from Ohio State University in 1974 with a degree in photography. While a student she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, vice president of the student government, and served as editor for the school newspaper, Our Choking Times.{{Cite web|title = Sharon Farmer |url = http://lgbthistorymonth.com/sharon-farmer?tab=biography|website = LGBTHistoryMonth.com|access-date = November 12, 2015}}

File:President Bill Clinton with Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority.jpg, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak who came together for peace negotiations in 2000.]]

Career

Farmer started her career in 1974 shooting album covers. Her freelance photography grew to photojournalism and she worked for Smithsonian Institution, The Washington Post and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.{{Cite web|title = Sharon Farmer |url = http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/sharon-farmer-41|website = The HistoryMakers|access-date = November 19, 2015}}

In 1993, Sharon Farmer was hired to photograph for The White House covering President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.{{Cite web|title = Photographer Spotlight {{!}} Sharon Farmer |url = http://thephotographer4you.com/photography/photographer-spotlight-sharon-farmer|website = thephotographer4you.com|access-date = November 19, 2015}}{{Cite web|title = Minor Rift Between First Pets - 01-06-98|url = http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/01/06/vxtreme/pets.rift/|publisher = CNN|work=AllPolitics|accessdate = November 20, 2015}} Later, Farmer was promoted to Director of White House Photography and became the first African American and first woman to hold this position.{{Cite web|title = Tuason presents award to Sharon Farmer|url = http://www.glaa.org/archive/2011/tuason2farmer0420.shtml|website = www.glaa.org|date=April 20, 2011|accessdate = November 20, 2015}}

Farmer's work has been included in multiple exhibits, including: "Songs of My People," "Art against AIDS," "Gospel in the Projects," "Twenty Years on the Mall," "Washington, DC-Beijing Exchange," and "Our View of Struggle."

Academia

Sharon Farmer majored in photography and minored in music at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree.{{cite web |title=Sharon Farmer |url=https://focusonthestory.org/festival/bios/sharon-farmer/ |website=Focus On The Story |access-date=11 December 2020}}