The Black Stories Project book is now available to preorder. The book is hardcover, 275 pages long and includes the wet plate collodion portraits and stories of 102 members of the Black community in the state of Utah, documenting their experience with various aspects of life here.
Books are shipping in late May of 2022. The first edition is a limited edition and includes 200 copies.
Books are shipping in late May of 2022. The first edition is a limited edition and includes 200 copies.
"For our ancestors, there wasn’t an opportunity to give up. Every situation for them was life and death. And for us, we’re lucky that it’s not that extreme, but at some point we have to draw the line and say, “After today, this destruction of our communities is no longer an acceptable outcome.” I feel the most connected to my ancestors through the disappointment of fighting for some of these freedoms that we should already be experiencing, and then falling short." ALEX
"The way that my race and my religion have interplayed with one another has been interesting and it’s been good. I feel like as I’ve come to learn more about God and develop a relationship with Him, I’ve realized that I may look different than those around me who go to church, but that’s the way He intended it. We have a very intentional God, a very loving God and there is no doubt in my mind that He intended me to look this way. He loves me the same and has the same hope for me that He does for my dad, and my mom, and they couldn’t look more different. He hopes that we’ll all return to Him and live as a family, so I feel like my religion has helped me to focus on that. When I focus on the truth and the doctrine that is taught, I realize that we might have physical differences, but to God we’re not that different. To God we’re equally loved and equally wonderful." -AUSTEN
"See something, say something. Coming from a person of color versus coming from a white person, your voice is always perceived differently. Speaking to our white friends, If you are looking to be involved in this movement, recognize that it’s going to take work. Recognize that there is a system of injustice and that white people benefit from it. Discover that you have power with your voice, with your body, with your presence. There is power in all of those. Recognize that and use it to help people who are powerless! In those situations it is the best thing you can do. We don’t need posters, we don’t always need people at the protests. In your workplace, in your classrooms, it’s really just that if you see it, say something." -ANISHA
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"I think the way it connects me to [my ancestors] is just the continual fight. So many Black people over time have died trying to become equal. Starting in 1619 when the first slaves came to America, up till today, millions of Black people have fought and truly yearned to be free. And as I join in that same fight of equality and equity, allowing everybody to have the same opportunities in every aspect of life, you can kind of feel that motivation to keep going. When I look around and I notice the suffering of all the people, how much racism and injustice there is. It gets overwhelming but then you realize, “Hey, 60 years ago somebody else was fighting this same fight.” And so it’s a motivation just to never stop, because if we were to stop, then all is going to be lost." -SEBASTIAN
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"I think a lot of people focus on some of the negatives and the hard things that come with being a Black person, but I think it’s beautiful being a Black person.We need to share that more often, that we have our own culture. I literally come from people who had their culture stripped from them, but then when they were finally free, they made their own culture. Like they came up with it on their own. And that is what Black culture is in America. I love that I get to be a part of that and celebrate that. I’ll be able to share it with my kids, and I love that I come from people who were able to think of their own culture. I love everything about Black culture, From our hair, to our music, to the clothing, and how influential we are in American culture." -RACHEL
"If you see me on the street, you know, don’t be scared! Because me―I’m a goofy kid, you know. Always happy. But if you don’t know me you wouldn’t know that. So rather than seeing me on the street and kind of moving away, get to know me personally! You’ll be surprised because there’s so many great African American kids, Black kids who are caring and loving, but don’t get a chance to show it, to prove it, because we’ve already been judged at that moment, you know. If you see me, my dreads, if you see my waves, you might be thinking, “Oh man, that kid is trouble. He probably does all kinds of crazy things,” and all that. But if you just put that aside and get to know that person, you’ll be surprised." -GEORGE
"We need to care more about people. Whether that's disabled people or Black people or people who love differently or people of different races―whatever it is, I think it's seeing people as humans. It's seeing the humanity in all people. I believe that these events that are currently happening are beyond just politics. I think that they're very much about humanity, and we will be judged for the way that we treat our fellow humans. I very much believe that because we are all children of God, that we should be treating each other as such, and that includes learning and listening to people who are different from you." -DUMDI
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"Navigating race in a predominantly white community has pretty much been my whole life. Both my parents, being from Ghana and understanding Navigating race in a predominantly white community has pretty much been my whole life. Both my parents, being from Ghana and understanding the context of what it’s like being Black in America, they tried to protect me and showed me that there are certain things you can’t do as a Black person in America. You can’t wear hoodies at night, you don’t want to have your hands in your pocket in the store, and there are certain ways in dealing with cops when you get pulled over. I feel like I’ve just been so trained to navigate the white space flawlessly, that I almost don’t know who myself is anymore! I don’t know my exact identity because I’ve been so ingrained with appeasing white people and changing my voice, or how I say things, and I just feel like it’s kind of robbed me of my individuality, and understanding myself." -KOFI
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"When I leave my house, my family and friends are nervous for me, specifically my wife. With everything that’s going on in the world now, with everything that happened to George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, Breonna Taylor, everything that’s happened that’s not okay and people not being held accountable, my wife is really really nervous. Whenever I leave the house, she’s nervous. She wonders if I will come home alive. That’s something that we thank God everyday that I do. That’s not a joke and it’s not something I’m trying to flex about. This is the actual reality that I think about everyday. When I’m out driving and I pull up next to a police officer. It doesn’t matter whether I’m going the speed limit or I’m going over the speed limit, that makes no difference. I get really nervous thinking my life will be taken when I get pulled over. What’s going to happen? I don’t know what mood that cop was in when he woke up that day. My life is at risk. And it’s a bigger concern for my wife when she’s in the car with me because she’s experiencing those things, she’s seen that firsthand. She’s being asked by others if she’s okay when she’s out in public, as if I’m some type of threat. She’s gotten an alarming perspective on how our society feels about Black people and the stereotypes and biases that they have. This is something that she’s had to struggle with. She’s really had to dig down deep and find out what her testimony is, where her faith is at and what her moral standards are because that’s just not right to treat someone that way. It’s not right for anyone to have those preconceived notions about someone else when you haven’t even met them, but you base your judgment on what you are reading or what you are seeing. This is something that’s a very sensitive matter, and I wanted to share it, because it really does matter. It really does matter to me and that’s an actual concern that we have in my family." -RON
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"Navigating race here in Utah has been refreshing, it has been an experience where I know people who look like me are here, and if we see each other in public we just do a little up-nod or something like that. It’s like this unspoken thing of, “I see you.” I never experienced that in Georgia, but moving out here, it’s like, “I’m probably the only Black guy in this McDonald’s right now” or “I’m the only one out here walking on this street.” It can be a bit intimidating. I will say that when George Floyd was killed, that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. I am a photographer, and when I was going out and taking photos, I was afraid. I was afraid to go out with my camera and document what was going on. I was afraid that people would think I was doing something suspicious, or that my camera would be seen as a gun or something like that. I stopped taking photos for a while. I very rarely went out. At that point in time, especially with the coronavirus danger, I felt like I was trapped and I couldn't do much. When I started taking photos again, I began to over-exaggerate my movements. It was wide open, plain to see. I'm reaching in my bag, I’m pulling out my camera, I’m putting the lens on. And that became a routine of, “I'm not a threat, I’m just here to do this.” -BRYAN
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"Growing up Black in a white community is very hard. But the most difficult part of my struggle growing up Black in a predominantly white community has been people not being attracted or interested in me. It sounds so dumb, but it really is hard to grow up in a community where you feel ugly, where you feel less than everyone around you. Up until I got into college, I really thought I was ugly. I really thought I was not attractive. And I think that’s something that a lot of other Black girls face. Just that feeling of being worthless and feeling that no one will ever love you. My advice to younger Black girls and younger people of color would be to not dim yourself or change yourself just to fit into the community around you. Because you are you for a reason, God made you the way you are for a reason, and you do not have to change that to fit in. It’s hard, I know it’s very, very hard to be in a world where you don’t seem to belong anywhere, but be confident in yourself and let your confidence radiate through everything you do, and that is what people will see. That is that beauty that people will see." -KAMI
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"I feel like I have a personal responsibility as the son of immigrants to be a trailblazer and create opportunities for other people who will come after me, who look like me, who are Black men in particular. I recognize and acknowledge the sacrifices that my parents have made and for the life that they have built for me and my family. I would like to do the same and create those opportunities for my future family. By putting myself as a minority in situations where I can interact with people who don’t look like me, it creates opportunities for others to learn and listen and recognize that the face of America isn’t always what just one group of people might be used to. It includes inclusion and diversity and learning" -MUSIE
"God is the author of diversity. I’m not going to be white in Heaven. Not a thing. I’m not white here, and I’m not going to be white there. And that’s for a purpose. I hope that we can continue to make art in Christian churches and stop having white Jesuses everywhere. He wasn’t white, He was from Israel! He didn't have blue eyes! When Christian churches put that rhetoric out to the public, they don’t realize that there are kids, very young, who think that they’re going to be white in Heaven. I thought that for a long time. All the pictures of angels were white, so I guess when I’m an angel I’ll be white. No. I think the longer I continue my relationship with God and what that means, of going to church and not going to church, reading the Bible, not reading the Bible...talking to God about my relationship with Him, the closer I feel to my ancestors, the more valid I feel in my struggle with the society that I’m living in. I think there’s a purpose to life, and I find that in God. God didn’t make a mistake when He made my melanin." -SHELBY
"I would love to tell people...that they should feel empowered to get involved and take action. I think at this time in our country, we’re at a boiling point. Everyone should feel like they have skin in the game, regardless of their race or background. What’s going on right now in this country affects all of us in one way or another, and time’s up for people to pretend like nothing’s wrong. The line is drawn and I feel like people should get involved. Sometimes it’s kind of discouraging. It’s overwhelming, you don’t know where to start. But just by asking questions… “How can I be a part of the solution to this problem?” “Where can I step in?” and realizing what talents you might possess to help push our whole country forward. Everyone has a role to play, and it’s super important to be able to figure out what that role is and any capabilities you have. Let your guard down and don’t get defensive, and actually be able to acknowledge that you might be wrong. You might be benefitting from some systems that you’ve never acknowledged, and that’s okay, but now what are you going to do with that privilege? And what can you do to help move things forward?" -KIRA
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"I have felt like I’ve done a lot to stay away from stereotyping, but I’m realizing that it was me trying to preempt a lot of the racism that I felt. At the end of the day, you can't really change how people look at you, and it's honestly exhausting to try to do that, to try to act in a certain way just so that you can mitigate how others perceive you. I think a lot of people do that. Especially in predominantly white spaces, a lot of minorities are feeling like they have to act a certain way. I started seeing that in myself. For so long It’s been so engrained that I didn’t even realize that I was doing it. But It’s almost futile to do that because people are going to have their own biases anyway. In the future, I hope that everyone can strive to be themselves. It’s so necessary. Something that everyone craves and desires in their lives is to find a space where they can be vulnerable or at least feel comfortable and eventually open themselves up." -LAMECK
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"The challenges of living in a predominantly white community...I think that it's mostly the microaggressions that happen―”you’re pretty for a Black girl” or “you don't talk like a Black person” or “I totally forget that you are even Black.” Well, I still am and that’s still hurtful. I think right now I’m just really exhausted because I feel like I’m educating all of the time. Especially with the George Floyd situation and Black Lives Matter and my son, having to fight for him and defend his equality, realizing that where I felt like I was accepted, I was only tolerated. It's been an eye-opener for me. Growing up, you know the rules of what you can and cannot do. I felt like those rules were a little more blurred and that they were kind of going away until I challenged them or until I stood up and said ‘Hey this stuff actually does happen and it’s not okay,’ and then with George Floyd, everyone could see that this is the way it really is. I’ve lived here my whole life,but this year was kind of an eye opener. A lot of Black people are probably exhausted and have post traumatic stress. And things that I grew up pushing down, now have reached to the surface, making me realize those things weren’t okay and that I was very hurt by things. I feel at times that I'm very guarded living in a fully white Community because I'm the spokesperson for Blackness, for being Black. And if I say or do the wrong thing, then that’s their view of Black people forever. I feel like I'm always on show, on performance so it’s difficult at times." -MEGHAN
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