Cassandra Griffen (January 25, 1950 – October 23, 2024) was an activist, documentary photographer, and cultural preservationist known for documenting the intersections of art, music, and Black political life in the United States. Her photography captured figures from the Civil Rights Movement, the avant-garde jazz world, and contemporary social justice movements, helping preserve important cultural and historical moments.

Griffen was born in Wilson, North Carolina, to Charles Richard Griffen and Bertha Baynes Griffen, both educators in the public school system. She developed an early interest in photography and began taking pictures at family gatherings when she was about eleven years old. What began as a childhood curiosity gradually evolved into a lifelong commitment to documenting community life and social change.

As an adult, Griffen lived and worked in the Northeast, particularly in New York and New Jersey. Alongside her photography, she pursued careers in public service, including work as a gerontologist and as an ombudsman advocating for the rights of elderly residents in nursing homes. She also served on the New York State Human Rights Commission, where she contributed to efforts to develop fair housing policies. Throughout this period, Griffen continued photographing the vibrant cultural and political scenes around her.

During the late 1970s in New York City, Griffen became closely connected with the experimental jazz ensemble the Sun Ra Arkestra. After meeting the group while attending performances at the legendary CBGB music club, she developed a lasting relationship with the musicians and eventually became one of the ensemble’s principal documentary photographers. Her photographs helped record the Arkestra’s performances and community life, preserving images of the group’s unique artistic vision and its role in African American cultural expression. Members of the ensemble recalled that Sun Ra himself trusted Griffen deeply and welcomed her presence within the group’s inner circle.

After spending more than four decades in the Northeast, Griffen relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1999 to care for her uncle, J. T. McKinney, one of the city’s early African American jitney bus operators. In the South, she continued her photographic work, documenting artists, musicians, and civil rights figures throughout Alabama and the surrounding region. Her portfolio eventually included portraits of influential figures such as civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth, activist Coretta Scott King, poet Sonia Sanchez, and blues musician Henry “Gip” Gipson.

Griffen was particularly interested in recording the cultural life of Black communities. She photographed jazz performances, community gatherings, protests, and local artistic spaces. She also documented places such as Gip’s Place in Bessemer and Joe Minter’s “African Village in America,” capturing both everyday scenes and historically significant moments.

Her work was exhibited at a number of cultural institutions, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Odessa Woolfolk Gallery. Friends and collaborators frequently described her photography as a form of historical preservation, noting that she often documented events and people whose contributions might otherwise have gone unrecorded.

Griffen remained active in the arts and civic life of Birmingham until her death in 2024 at the age of 75. After her passing, artists, historians, and musicians gathered at East Village Arts in Birmingham to celebrate her life and work. The event featured a gallery of her photographs, including images of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, portraits of members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and photographs of cultural figures such as Nina Simone.

Remembered as both a documentarian and a storyteller, Griffen devoted her life to preserving the cultural history of the communities she loved. Through her photographs, she created an enduring visual record of Black artistic and political life across several decades.