Welcome to the inaugural post for the newsletter that nobody asked for, "Where Shit Hits The Fan". We’re gonna kick this first one off reviewing the year of our Lord 2022, where all 12 months had absolutely no chill (until this last month when it decided to drop an artic blast). Whether it was being in the White House press pool to photograph Vice President Kamala Harris, watching people pour into the streets to protest the supreme court overturning Roe vs Wade, being upset because inflation caused my momma not to make chitlins this year, or having one of the oldest public universities in the country come for me when I did not send for them, there was no shortage of adventures to navigate this year. Here are a few memories I'm reflecting on from the year:
1. Tarred Healing
“Tarred Healing” is the name of a photo series I made during an artist fellowship at UNC-Chapel in 2021. The series was basically an expansion of my series “Behind the Mask”, but centered on stories of the Black community of UNC and Chapel Hill. There was supposed to have been an exhibition of the work at the beginning of the year, but what had happened was the University started tripping.
There were images the university wanted to exclude and after heated arguments regarding censorship, I decided to move forward with a watered-down version of the series. Knowing I had full ownership and no contractual obligations for exclusivity with the university, I shared the series with The Washington Post. The Washington Post published the full photo essay uncensored, in retaliation, the university canceled the exhibition, and that’s when shit hit the fan.
Long story short, they f*cked around and found out. The media started covering the situation and why wouldn’t they? This was happening on the heels of UNC’s Nikole Hannah-Jones controversy. The Black community the university claimed I disrespected (yes, they actually said this in a press conference) rallied behind me and ensured that the overall goal of lifting their stories stayed intact. When it was all said and done, the Chapel Hill NAACP donated funds to have all the excluded images printed and framed. In addition, the Chapel Hill Library converted part of its space into a gallery. “Tarred Healing” ended up being everything it was supposed to be, with about 200-plus people attending on opening night.
Yall, the story gets better. Earlier this year, I got an email from the National Civil Rights Museum. After hearing about “Tarred Healing” through the media coverage, they wanted to bring it to the museum as a solo exhibition. So here’s my big news, “Tarred Healing” will be on display starting MLK weekend in 2023. Holy Fucking Shit Balls!!!!
If you’re in Memphis, please shoot me a note. I’d love to meet up. I’ll be there from January 12th through the 16th.
Information about the exhibition can be found here.
2. I Went To A Trump Rally
I wanted to do hoodrat stuff with my friends, so I went to a circus Trump rally. I know you probably have lots of questions because, yes, I was a fly in a bowl of milk. Was I scared? How did they treat me? Did they burn crosses? C'mon, these folks don't have a racist bone in their…SIKE!!
The whole thing was weird AF. The music was creepy, Fox News propaganda clips played throughout the day between speeches, frequent ramblings of Qanon conspiracy theories could be heard between attendees, and people oddly dressed to impress their one and only Orange insurrection Jesus made this the wildest shit I’ve ever witnessed.
The real reason I went was that I low-key had this fantasy that the FBI would arrest Trump on stage and I'd be there to snap the photo. Of course, that didn't happen, he’s running for President in 2024. :-/
Some of this work was published in a story by The Atlantic.
3. Family Documentary
So this whole photography journey started with family photography, and it’s completely morphed into something I never imagined at this point. I didn’t document families as much as I wanted this year, but it was so refreshing getting to photograph the ones I did. They’re always a reminder that parenting is really f*cking hard and beautiful all at the same time.
Here’s one of my favorite family documentary photos from the year. It made the “Diversify Photos of The Year” list.
4. Cheri Beasley
I was bummed Cheri Beasley lost her election, she deserved better. I was fortunate to have met her several times this year. She always stopped to hug me and ask about Willa and my partner. One of the times I met her was when I was on assignment for The Washington Post. It was noon, hot and sunny AF, and she only had 10 minutes for a portrait before she had to head to her next stop. While the reporter was still interviewing her, I ran to my car, climbed into my trunk through the backseat (because my trunk latch is broke :-/ hahaha), grabbed a scrim and a light, and made a set up right beside a gazebo she was being interviewed at. It’s one of my favorite portraits I made this year.
5. Martha’s Vineyard
For a third year, we made it back to one of my favorite places in the country, Martha's Vineyard. This year we planned the trip with my sister from another mother and photographer extraordinaire, Carolyn Fong. While we didn't get to hang out with the Obamas or go to fancy island parties with celebrities, we had a blast just chilling together and being free.
Here's a photo I made this year for my ongoing series about Blackness on Martha's Vineyard titled, “Happy to See You Here”:
6. Climate Change
This summer, Scranton, North Carolina, a predominantly Black community in the coastal wetlands, was the heart of a climate change story I photographed for The Guardian. I spent four days in this rural community. Two of the people I met were Lelon and Senorita Howard. They’ve lived their entire life in Scranton and have already been forced to rebuild their home once after hurricane Floyd. With sea level rise continuing to climb due to climate change, their community floods even on days when it’s not raining. The land that their ancestors were enslaved on and later became home to generations of their family may soon be gone.
Here’s one of my favorite photos I made of the Howards in their front yard. It made The Guardians 2022 year in photos list.
7. Josephine Ella Watson
If the name sounds familiar, it’s the reverse of Ella Josephine, as in Ella Josephine Baker. We welcomed our second kiddo, Josephine Ella Watson, into the world on October 5th, 2022.
Hands down the undisputed highlight of 2022.
I’mma stop on 7 because that’s a lucky number and how could I possibly top that? Happy New Year, yall!! Thanks for being here and for all of your support. None of this would be possible without you.
Congrats on an amazing year! Can’t wait to see what joy you and your wonderful family bring to 2023!
Errr, OK. So I chose the wrong week to launch my little journal of catharsis; this is bloody excellent! Your writing combines the same honesty, and humor as your photography and I love to see your star ascending further still! Keep up the amazing work!