This is the first post of our new “Listen” series, about the journeys and contributions of people of color.
Please take some time to drift through and meditate on this amazing photo exhibition by Carolyn Elaine Miller. We must learn to see one another.
“Our Journeys, Our Stories: In Our Own Words pays visual homage to the women who are making a difference and creating shifts in the African-American community on many levels. Often these impacts are invisible as they are layered with so many other themes that overshadow the full body of the Black Woman’s Experience. Far too often, the many layers of the Black Woman have been misrepresented or ignored. In spite of the complexity and diversity of their “work”, Black Women often have been relegated to the position of a “footnote” in the stories of others.
This exhibition seeks to bring illumination to those Women that create paths for others to trod, that diminish the pain and bring healing through education, artistic expressions, social intervention, entrepreneurship, (will need to add here). These women are the backbones of our families and our communities and this photographic collective creates an awareness of the powerful ways in which they shape, mold, and facilitate the evolution of the consciousness of our People.
It is the desire that this exhibition provides a cross-cultural, cross-racial awareness of the power of the Black Woman’s position in her village. It is the intent of this exhibition to enhance the understanding of the legacy handed down to little girls from their villages. It is those villages that nurture and sustain the impulses that enable these women to walk their paths, share their wisdom, and tell their stories.
As the viewer walks through the exhibition, there will be visual displays of the women in their environments where the “work” takes place. There will be videos that capture the narratives as the women describe their journeys, the people that helped to shape them, and how that energy is manifesting in their lives today. Their journeys will be documented and framed alongside their images to provide greater clarity on the ‘paths taken’.
Though this show is about Black Women, it is not solely for “Black Women or Black People”. It is a tapestry of wisdom, humor, artistry, intellect, power, gentleness, stoicism, vulnerability, courage, independence, love, and the myriad of experiences that make US WHO WE ARE: A force that will continue to provide the foundation for all the generations to come. A collective that needs to be experienced and Plunderstood by all creeds, cultures, genders, and races.”
Click the link below to experience beauty and blackness.