What it means to document the everyday reality of black America
- Text by Ruddy Roye
- Photography by Ruddy Roye
This article appears in Huck 57 – The Documentary Photo Special IV.
The act of staying alive is a protest. If you have to survive in a neighbourhood where there are drugs and crime, for me that is a protest.
When a mother says to her child that he can’t play out on the street after a certain hour because she’s expecting the boys to be coming out, that’s a protest.
The huge marches in Ferguson or Manhattan are a visible form of protest, but I’m looking at it in a more abstract way. For me, activism is a way of life.
“Why was he shot so many times? asks 19-year-old Dante Newsome, reflecting on the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Latest on Huck
In the ’60s and ’70s, Greenwich Village was the musical heart of New York
Talkin’ Greenwich Village — Author David Browne’s new book takes readers into the neighbourhood’s creative heyday, where a generation of artists and poets including Bob Dylan, Billie Holliday and Dave Van Ronk cut their teeth.
Written by: Cyna Mirzai
How Labour Activism changed the landscape of post-war USA
American Job — A new exhibition revisits over 70 years of working class solidarity and struggle, its radical legacy, and the central role of photography throughout.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Analogue Appreciation: Emma-Jean Thackray
Weirdo — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, multi-instrumentalist and Brownswood affiliate Emma-Jean Thackray.
Written by: Emma-Jean Thackray
Meet the shop cats of Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district
Feline good — Traditionally adopted to keep away rats from expensive produce, the feline guardians have become part of the central neighbourhood’s fabric. Erica’s online series captures the local celebrities.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How trans rights activism and sex workers’ solidarity emerged in the ’70s and ’80s
Shoulder to Shoulder — In this extract from writer Jake Hall’s new book, which deep dives into the history of queer activism and coalition, they explore how anti-TERF and anti-SWERF campaigning developed from the same cloth.
Written by: Jake Hall
A behind the scenes look at the atomic wedgie community
Stretched out — Benjamin Fredrickson’s new project and photobook ‘Wedgies’ queers a time-old bullying act by exploring its erotic, extreme potential.
Written by: Isaac Muk