Alex Rivera would not appreciate me making a big deal over him or the house at 1712 Fayetteville Street in Durham. He lived there for many years, but never considered it his own home. He remarked during an interview earlier this year, that in fact the house was owned by North CarolinaCentralUniversity and he felt no emotional attachment to it. Alex, a reknowned photojournalist, was a very proud and yet humble man and he liked his place behind the camera much more than in the forefront.

 Born in 1913, Alex Rivera became a student and started his career as a publicity agent for North CarolinaCentralCollege for Negroes (now North CarolinaCentralUniversity) in 1939. He graduated from North Carolina Central in 1941 and served as an intelligence officer in the U.S, Navy from 1941-1945. His career evolved as he became a photojournalist for several newspapers including The Pittsburgh Courier, The Washington Tribune and The Norfolk Journal and Guide. In 1955 he received the Global News Syndicate Journalism Achievement Award for his coverage following the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. 

During his career he went on to photograph some of the most prolific civil rights moments of our times. When the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let Marian Anderson perform in Constitution Hall and Eleanor Roosevelt granted her the right to perform at the Lincoln Memorial, Alex Rivera was there with camera in hand. When Arthur Ashe won his first junior tennis championship match, Alex was there with camera in hand. When then Vice-President Nixon was invited to Africa to celebrate the independence of Ghana, Alex was there with camera in hand. Through his lens Alex Rivera witnessed some of the darkest and brightest moments of our times.  

Alex returned to North CarolinaCentralUniversity in the mid 1970's where he headed the schools public relations department until his retirement in 1993. While Alex would say to us that the house at 1712 held no significant value for him, we know that his role as a local historian is of significant value to the citizens of Durham and across the entire nation.