James Wesley Jeffrey, Jr. was a Black photographer born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1945 who lived most of his life in Los Angeles. For most of his career he worked as a commercial photographer but also shot documentary and fine art photography for special projects and exhibits.

The collection primarily consists of negatives (predominantly black-and-white 35mm and 120mm), contact sheets, slides, color transparencies (predominantly 4x5), prints, audiovisual materials, ephemera, proposals, drafts, notes, clippings, posters, publications, and organizational records. Strengths of the collection include documentation of most of his photographic oeuvre, early on from his travels and photography school assignments in the 1970s to the closing of the Black Gallery in the 2000s. His commercial work is particularly highlighted. Weaknesses of the collection include less description for images, such as unidentified subjects and dates, and few client records attached to commercial assignments. There is less documentation of his own created work in film, but there are proposals for his film projects and evidence of his strong participation in Black filmmaker groups. Location is predominantly Los Angeles but also includes Tennessee and his personal travels international and domestic.

The collection is arranged into five series: Black Film, Television, and Theater (1974-1999), Black Photographers of California and Collected Works (1940-2005), Events and Places (1965-2005), People and Commercial (1960-2011), and Projects and Writing (1970-2005). Bulk dates are from 1970s to 1990s.

Series I, Black Film, Television, and Theater contains two subseries: Black American Cinema Society (1975-1997) and Non-Black American Cinema Society (1974-1999). Subseries A, Black American Cinema Society, contains video recordings (U-matic), applications, negatives, contact sheets, slides, prints, correspondence, programs, bulletins, clippings, and ephemera. The Black American Cinema Society (BACS) was founded in 1978 and established itself as the foremost exhibitor of historical Black films on the west coast. The video recordings are mostly films submitted to BACS’s annual Independent and Student Filmmakers Competition, also known as Black Filmmakers’ Grants Program, which recognized and encouraged new and emerging filmmakers. It began in 1982 and was sponsored by the Western States Black Research Center (WSBRC) founded by Mayme Clayton. The films were made by multiple filmmakers who are credited. Jeffrey likely coordinated the program and was part of the panel to select winners. Events documented include Black Talkies on Parade Film Festival, a film series that screened mostly Black-made films for the public, and the annual BACS Awards. Subseries B, Non-Black American Cinema Society, contains slides, negatives, contact sheets, prints, proposals, correspondence, programs, clippings, ephemera, notes, and drafts. It documents projects, events, and organizations in Black film, television, and theater not directly related to BACS.

Series II, Black Photographers of California and Collected Works, contains organizational records, gallery records, ephemera, proposals, correspondence, programs, rosters, prints, negatives, contact sheets, slides, drawings, posters, publications, and a videocassette. Founded in 1984, the Black Photographers of California (BPC) was a non-profit educational institution and a photography collective dedicated to promoting, presenting, and preserving the photography of established and emerging photographers of color. The Black Gallery is where the BPC held most of their activities, since the gallery’s directors were BPC members. The gallery opened in 1984 and closed around 2001. Its address was 107 Santa Barbara Plaza in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. After Roland Charles, who spearheaded the BPC and Black Gallery, died in 2000, Jeffrey presided over the BPC, assisted in transferring archival materials from the Black Gallery to CSUN, and continued Charles’s efforts to reopen the Black Gallery. It did not reopen. The collected works are those Jeffrey privately collected or received from his fellow photographers and artists.

Series III, Events and Places, contains slides, prints, negatives, contact sheets, color transparencies, ephemera, clippings, publications, and audio and film reels. Most of Jeffrey’s personal photography in this series is from his international and domestic travels, most of it likely occurring during his service in the U.S. Air Force, and of Tennessee, where he grew up. Images are of street scenes, landscape, buildings, interiors, group activities, and people. Events include festivals, business meetings, shows, social and sporting events, awards ceremonies, protests, and performances.

Series IV, People and Commercial, is the largest series. It contains negatives, contact sheets, color transparencies, prints, slides, ephemera, publications, tear sheets, clippings, and film reels. People documented are from both Jeffrey’s professional (the majority) and personal photography. There are portraits of individuals and groups posed or in activity. Images of models are in portrait and full body views in studio and outdoor settings. Nude photography is present, especially in assignments for the softcore monthly Players Magazine. Jeffrey’s recurring significant clients include Holloway House Publishing, Players Magazine, L.A. County Public Library, Golden State Mutual Insurance and local television news channels. There is also product and still life photography present.

Series V, Projects and Writing, contains negatives, contact sheets, prints, color transparencies, slides, drafts, proposals, correspondence, notes, editorials, ephemera, and clippings. The projects documented are Jeffrey’s major or recurring photography, collage, and exhibit projects, excluding those where he collaborated with the Black Photographers of California or were heavily commercial. Significant projects include his Tuskegee Airmen multimedia documentary project, a few Los Angeles and children-themed collage projects, and his "Birds of Paradise" nude series. For writing, Jeffrey wrote articles, short stories, novellas, and publication proposals. His photography school assignments and papers are also present in this series.

Collection folders are arranged alphabetically by title.