MELVIN GRIER grew up in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati and served in the U.S. Air Force. He was a staff photographer at The Cincinnati Post for 33 years. Melvin was named 1999 Ohio Photographer of the Year by the Queen City Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists, and was inducted into its Greater Cincinnati Journalism Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was named the Taft Museum of Art Robert S. Duncanson Artist-in-Residence and inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Cincinnati Chapter Hall of Fame. Melvin resides in South Avondale with his wife Brenda.