Kenneth R. Randolph

1951 - 2022

Kenneth R. Randolph
4/20/1951
Kenneth Roger Randolph, a leading photojournalist and newspaper editor who covered local and national news for more than three decades, died on Monday, May 16, 2022 in Georgia. He was 71.
Born to the late Raymond and Muriel Randolph in New Haven, Connecticut on April 20, 1951, Ken, as he was affectionally called, was a member of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church and a graduate of Hillhouse High School. During the late 1960s while still a high school student Ken worked as a freelance photographer for the New Haven Register (New Haven Journal Courier) covering the Black Power movement. He was central in documenting the trials of Black Panthers Ericka Huggins and Bobby Seale and other demonstrations in and around New Haven. Over the course of a decade and half, Ken held various leadership positions at the newspaper and eventually rose through the ranks to become Associate Managing Editor of Photography and Graphics in the mid-1980s. Under his direction the Photography and Graphics department won numerous awards and garnered national attention for insightful coverage. In 1989, he left New Haven for Atlanta. His work as an editor of photography at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was instrumental in the coverage of the 1996 Olympics. A longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association, he mentored scores of young journalists who went on to storied careers of their own. After retiring, Ken returned to college and graduated from Georgia State University with a B.A. in photography with a concentration in fine art.
While his professional accomplishments are countless, his greatest accomplishment will always be his children and grandsons. Ken leaves behind a son, Kenneth Randolph II; a daughter, Sherie Randolph; a former wife who remained a beloved partner, Linda Williams Randolph; and two grandsons, Kenneth Randolph III and Obinna Randolph-Onyeagoro. He is also survived by a sister, Hattie Evans; a brother, Raymond Randolph II; and a sister, Pamela Jones.