WOW, what a time to be alive. Especially in America. A time when a pandemic had revealed immense weaknesses in a system of existing. And then the death of George Floyd ignited the powder keg of America.
The murders of Breonna Taylor George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, however has caused America to turn a page and re-evaluate how we live and co-exist moving forward. Racism is a poison that has been plaguing America since it’s beginnings.
The tendrils of racism have always been present, even in the arts. Especially the visual arts. When I was starting out as a photographer I very well known and famous photographer told me that being in this industry would be an uphill battle for me.
Of course at fifteen or sixteen I had no idea what he meant. I mean; the civil rights movement was over and in 1986 I hadn’t personally experienced any overt racism. But that was the problem actually. None of it was overt. It was the worse kind. It was undercover.
That racism continues today. Publications talk about diversity but put more plus size models on their pages and covers respectively than black models. For the first time ever Vogue’s September 2018 issue was shot by a black photographer because Beyonce insisted on it.
Tyler Mitchell’s Beyoncé Portrait for Vogue Is Being Acquired by a Museum. Last year, Tyler Mitchell became the first African American photographer to shoot the cover of Vogue in its 125-year history
Were there no talented photographers who happened to be black? In all of the 125 years of publishing that book?
In the fifty plus years of the history of a popular swimsuit magazine there has only been TWO black women on the cover. EVER. Yet in their YouTube videos they constantly talk about diversity. As far as I can tell, there’s not ever been a black photographer highlighted, or for that matter many if ANY members of the team who happen to be black.
You really can’t talk about diversity if you’re not actually being diverse in your practices.
But let’s not stop there. Let’s talk about brand ambassadorships. I am a Canon shooter and have been since I started doing photography. As of this moment there is only ONE black photographer who happens to be an explorer of light. Terrell Lloyd. How can that even be?
As far as I know; there aren’t a lot of photographers on the speaking circuit for various photography brands or at the big shows and that is rather a shame.
Now; I’m not suggesting companies abandon their sponsorships with white and or male photographers in favor of blacks or females. Rather I’m asking they make a more concerted effort to include members of those communities.
And let us not forget our friends who are members of the disabled communities who are quite amazing artisans in the world of photography. Their physical limitations certainly don’t prevent them from being amazingly creative.
I certainly need to take a moment to thank the companies who have stepped up already and were willing to work with me on my upcoming
I’ve had models and clients cancel once they found out that I wasn’t a white photographer. Hell; I even had a “model” threaten to 1. Sue me and 2. Ruin my career. Which was really hilarious.
The point is that brands still have a lot of work to do in order to catch up.
I was going to include a YouTube video I had shot months ago about this very topic but photographer Zack Arias released a video I include here because what he said was so amazing. Not to mention that most people rather hear about racism from a white person rather than a black person.
So give it a watch and let me know your thoughts.
This entire thing is really going to wake people up for real. We hope.
