On July 9th, 2018, I traveled from Minneapolis to San Diego alongside organizers from Black Visions Collective and the The Majority: Beyond the Moment, led by Mijente, to document a series of direct actions coordinated by a variety of grassroots and national social justice organizations in protest of our nation's immigration policies, demand the abolition of ICE, and an end to mass separation and imprisonment of families.
These are my top 3 favorite elements that I love to capture the most when documenting festival culture.
No matter who's on next, where you may be wandering off to or from, the level of excitement and engagement that flows throughout these scenes are always on a solid 10. For my second year at Minnesota's largest Hip-Hop festival, I found the presence of #melanated folks to be way more prominent on the State Fair Grounds than last year. Ultimately, these images represent the infinite expressions of Blackness, honoring the authentic and celebrating the bold personalities and aesthetics that exist in current day Hip-Hop culture. From nostalgia to futurism, there was a little bit for everyone, but no question that these folks showed up and showed out on this fine Memorial Day weekend.
Beyond the hype, however, one thing that caught my eye was how many femme artists were not curated, or at least scheduled to perform when enough people were present. I missed out on The Lioness & Kamaiyah after arriving only 30 minutes after they opened gates. And even then, I only caught Erykah, Rapsody & Young M.A., all of which are phenomenal artists and performers, although, I do wish there could've been more divine feminine present this time around.
Thanks again ROYAL for tapping me and Bobby to capture these special moments, particularly those shared by skinfolk. Check out my top 50 favorites below:
Ya boi just got accepted into THREAD, a program for cutting-edge journalists & storytellers in modern media at Yale this summer! But, living out my childhood dream will cost. Read more about my fundraising campaign.
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Above image credit: Lee Friedlander, Mahalia Jackson (at podium); first row: Mordecai Johnson, Bishop Sherman Lawrence Greene, Reverend Thomas J. Kilgore, Jr., and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., from the series Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, 1957.
New Exhibition Announcement!
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