About Ernest R Dickerson

Ernest Roscoe Dickerson was born on June 25, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey. His love for film and photography was instilled by his uncle at an early age — a passion he carried with him through his studies in architecture at Howard University, where he also began photographing for the campus newspaper.

He later attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he met fellow student Spike Lee. Their collaboration would define an era of American cinema. Dickerson served as cinematographer on the Student Academy Award-winning Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), and went on to shoot some of the most visually iconic films of the late 20th century — She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X.

In 1990, he made history as the first African American member of the American Society of Cinematographers — and at the time, its youngest inductee.

In 1992, Dickerson stepped into the director's chair with Juice, launching a distinguished directing career that spans feature films and some of television's most acclaimed series — including The Wire, Dexter, Treme, The Walking Dead, and Godfather of Harlem.

A recipient of a Peabody Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, and multiple NAACP Image Awards, Ernest Dickerson remains one of the most accomplished and influential filmmakers of his generation.