Dear APA Chicago Community,
Let’s start with their names, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and thousands more who were killed due to police violence. We condemn these murders.
We may not have the right words to express our support for our black community members and all black Americans, but we know you experience racism daily. Know that we are here for you and to support you.
We will be here to provide resources and open discussions on how we can take steps towards equality. Furthermore, we will shed a floodlight on systematic racial injustices and how that racism affects how we, as image-makers tell stories.
While we don’t have answers now, APA Chicago will work to craft a new way forward to support our community.
At this time we have more questions than answers:
- How do we best show up to support our black members and other members of color?
- How do we, as image-makers, begin to understand our positions within the system?
- How does the way we’ve been socialized create problematic renderings in our work that reproduces oppression?
- How do we work with editors, art directors, and buyers to educate them to prioritize hiring black photographers?
We are not asking you for the answers; we commit to putting in the work.
We are putting together a meeting led by APA Chicago Board Member Martine Severin to hear your voice and to discuss how we can better serve you as an African American or Person of Color.
Please help us give you exactly what you need and not what we think you need.
We have put together a resource list for how all non-black people can take action during this time.
Resources
- The Authority Collective · Resources for Photographers and Beyond on Anti-Racism
- Monique Melton · Unity Over Comfort Experience
- National Museum of African American History and Culture · Talking About Race
- Ibram X. Kendi · How to Be an Antiracist
- Variety · 11 Anti-Racist Accounts That Are Worth Following
- Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein · Anti-racism Resources for White People
- Sagal Muse · It’s Not Enough to Be Non-Racist
- Autumn Gupta and Bryanna Wallace · Justice in June
- Black Lives Matters · Ways You Can Help
- Creative Mornings · Brent Leggs - Seeing History, Seeing Potential
- Bookshop.org · Baratunde's World-Saving Books
- British Journal of Photography · Black Lives Matter: Anti-racism resources for the photography industry
- More resources coming soon