Whenever you see me out and about, taking lots of pictures, or "bottling up moments," this is my why. I have always enjoyed taking photos, creating storyboards, directing and videography. There are moments that need to be documented, and this page shares a few examples of my effort to do so.
As a tween I recall thinking, if my great-grandmother who was succumbing to Alzheimers, would have remembered moments of her life better, if she was shown pictures. (Oh the beauty of a youthful mind). This thought led me to capture oral histories and begin documenting. My studies as a Mass Communications minor at Virginia State University amplified my instinct to document things happening around me.
I haven't put a camera down since; I've just started making sure I'm on the subject side of the lens as well.
"Alexa, please add a hyperlink to the first music-video that comes to mind when I think of this." (Filter, Take A Picture)
1080p.movStratford Hall Summer Teacher Institute 2018
Slavery in Tidewater Virginia: Reality, Debate, and Dissolution
In July, I had the pleasure of participating in Stratford Hall's Summer Teacher Institute! The Institute consisted of roughly 30 educators across the Commonwealth, and a few from Maryland and Pennsylvania. The program brought educators from a variety of subjects, experiences, and demographics together to discuss, analyze, and develop best practices to teach slavery to youth.
1080p.movThe Slave Dwelling Project Comes to Fauquier County
On the weekend of August 25th, the Slave Dwelling Project came to Fauquier County. The event began at the African American Heritage Association in The Plains, with a lecture from Mr. Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project.
The weekend highlighted slave dwellings sites in the Fauquier area, and created a safe space for participants to learn more about slavery in Fauquier, tour slave dwellings, and for participants to engage in reenactments. The program created a community conducive to understanding, connecting to the ancestors, sleeping in a slave cabin, and rising in the morning to honor the lives that bore witness to the peculiar institution of slavery.
Dr. Kelly Deetz, author of Bound to the Fire, and Director of Programming, Education, and Visitor Engagement at Stratford Hall; and Mr. Dontavius Williams, Chronicles of Adam.
This video highlights my experiences at The Clifton Institute, where I participated in the event, and slept in the cabin onsite.
Prince William County Sesquicentennial Juneteenth Commemoration
I had the distinct honor and pleasure of serving on the PWC Sesquicentennial Planning Committee with a wonderful group of local innovators and authentically passionate lovers of Black History. This video is an overview of the event through my lens.
Stony The Road 2019
The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Alabama Humanities Foundation together, present: “Stony the Road We Trod . . .” Exploring Alabama’s Civil Rights Legacy, Institute for K-12 Schoolteachers.
In 2019, I had the chance of a lifetime experience of participating in this wonderful fellowship, which provided an in-depth, intimate experience to learn about the Civil Rights Movement. This is the view, from my lens.
Music credits:
Pharcyde, "Runnin'"
Melinda Doolittle, "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Shout out to "The Undefeated."