This is my submission to: The OSI Moving Walls 17 which is a documentary photography exhibition series that features in-depth and nuanced explorations of human rights and social issues.
Moving Walls recognizes the brave and difficult work that photographers undertake globally in their documentation of complex social and political issues. Their images provide the world with human rights evidence, put faces onto a conflict, document the struggles and defiance of marginalized people, reframe how issues are discussed publicly, and provide opportunities for reflection and discussion.
My entry exemplifies this submission category: “images that reframe mainstream media representations of African American men and boys.” Two distinct groups of black men in Harlem were chosen for this project. The first represents black men that are easily identifiable as employed or involved in constructive activities in a variety of occupations. The second represents young black men standing in front of their building where they reside but could too easily fit the stereotype: unemployable or involved in crime if they were on a street corner. For example there is a photograph of street entrepreneurial photographer, a community football coach and church member that are positive black males. The project’s social meaning is to draw a clear connection to the black males but the significant difference between the two groups: is the means to obtain a job or participation in a positive activity.
