Charlotte.
“I am of Chinese, Jicarilla Apache, Mexican, German, Irish, and Turkish heritage. I’m proud of who I am. I want my daughter to be proud of her background. More importantly, I want her to see that true pride, true strength means standing up for what is right. I want to believe that all lives matter, but that can’t be true if we don’t stand up right now and advocate that BlackLivesMatter.
“If the events that sparked protests were happening to a friend, we would be outraged. Yet for some reason we as a country have been okay with it happening to an entire group of people. It’s gone on too long. There have been too many excuses. It’s time to say, ‘No More.’ It’s time to stand up and stand with the black community.
“Love wins. I have to show my daughter that love means taking action--with our words, our voice, or any way that we can. Love wins.”
Charlotte’s portraits with her daughter and her words are part of my project to create portraits to show how Columbus is responding to and working through the current national protests in support of Black Lives Matter.
I have suggested that those joining me for the project perhaps wear a favorite shirt with an important message or person on it, draw messages and symbols on your arms or face, pose with a sign or book, bring a photo of someone inspirational, sit with someone important, or anything else they want to share in support of Black Lives Matter. We can show love, anger, support, sadness, and every emotion in between. I want to show all ages, young and old.
The goal of each photo is to show how each person is processing and responding to our country’s latest swell of support for Black Lives Matter.
In addition to creating the portraits for the project, I have asked participants to “donate what you can” for each portrait sitting. Donations will go to the Equal Justice Initiative, a national organization directed by Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy.
To join my project, please send me a private message or email at contact@aarontaylorphoto.com. I want to tell your story next.