June 21: Your lens to the interne t's most powerful photographs. 📸

June 21: Week in Photography

Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs.

📸 MOST POWERFUL PHOTO OF THE WEEK 📸

Stephanie Keith / Reuters

Nothing indicated that the Brooklyn Liberation march would be such a big protest last weekend. Dozens of other marches and protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality were scheduled, calling for justice for Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others.

And yet over 10,000 people showed up in Brooklyn in support of Black trans lives. The Supreme Court ruled two days later that one cannot lose their job due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, another win for the LGBTQ community.

Photographer Stephanie Keith captures the power of the crowd, mostly silent and solemn but united for change in this image from June 14.

📸For Your 👀 Only:

WHAT IT MEANS TO SEE BLACK FATHERS

Representation is so important. For the past few weeks, we have been inundated with images of angry people in the streets, of peaceful protesters, of victims of violence. We wanted to dial it back and look at what is ultimately the most important thing, love. In recognition of Father's Day, we spoke with Robyn Price Pierre, the curator of the book Fathers.

How many fathers are included, and how did you choose who to include?

There are 75 fathers in the book. Most of them came from my personal network or were friends of friends. One of the things I was intentional about, however, was not selecting fathers based on profession, etc. I didn’t ask anyone what they did for a living. I didn’t collect any of that data. I didn’t want to have this book steeped in respectability politics and distract from the experience. Too often, Black folks are expected to “put our best foot forward” and are deemed worthy by virtue of how well buttoned-up we are. I didn’t want to engage in any of that.

Twenty-Eight Ink

What is the most interesting thing you learned while creating this book?

I interviewed almost every father in the book, and very early on it was clear that they hadn’t been asked many questions about what they thought and how they felt in the context of fatherhood. So many of the answers were raw because this was, like, the first time they were hearing themselves say certain things out loud. And it was interesting to hear them experience themselves in this way for the first time. Most of the answers I didn’t include in Vol. 1, but they were a road map to what Vols. 2 and 3 might look like. As a journalist, it was such fertile ground. This is a group of men who want to talk but aren’t often spoken to in this way.

What has the reception to the book been like?

The book has had beautiful moments. It was in the New York Times, sold at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. And those are feats because there isn’t a machine behind this book, no publicist, etc. We formed a publishing company to release the book because we didn’t want to have to go to the traditional gatekeepers and sit in a room, explaining “why Black fathers mattered,” why they’re interesting, and why this coffee table book should exist. So we made in on our own, put it out into the world, and there have been people that have welcomed it into their home. And for that, we’re grateful.

Twenty-Eight Ink

What do you want the reader to see in this book?

I’m not invested in anyone seeing anything in particular. I’ve learned not to do that. I do hope, however, that Jelani Cobb’s introduction to the book serves as a lens or an entry point in how people might consider experiencing it. He writes, “For us [Black fathers], the word ‘fathers’ is an act of profound optimism. Defiance.” And that speaks to the duality we experience as Black people in America and, in this case, Black fathers in America. We don’t always have the luxury of joy without fear lurking somewhere beneath the surface. I hope people aren’t seduced by the photos of smiling dads, holding their kids close as an indicator that this is a book about only joyful lives. There is more there. In a recent conversation, Jelani talked about "the social forces that make holding or enjoying our families more difficult for us than it is for other people.” I hope people consider that.

Do you have a favorite image?

I don’t have a favorite image, but there is one that I think about often. I was actually wrapping up the layout of the book when I came across this photo on my friend Johnny’s timeline. I was struck not only by the image but by the caption that accompanied it. Johnny and his son Jaden were pictured in a grainy photo after a run. They both had on sweatshirts. One was wearing a black beanie and the other had his hood on his head. Johnny’s caption was tender. He wrote, “There is no finish line to being a man, but if there is a beginning … his young man showed me today that he has BEEN there. Three miles, nonstop, in this wind. I gave him the option to stop after a mile and a half run and he sped up! I love you son. #discipline.”

Twenty-Eight Ink

And while Johnny’s caption was tender and triumphant, I couldn’t help thinking to myself, My god, what would have happened if they had killed you. This would have been the photo they plastered all over the news to justify why your life and Jaden’s life didn’t matter.

And despite the fact that they were dressed appropriately for a jog on a windy day — two Black men in hoodies would have signaled to the public that they must have been “up to something” and therefore deserving of their fate.

I couldn’t stop looking and thinking about that photo of the proud moment between father and son and knowing that this same image would have elicited fear in someone else. It’s the last photo in the book — not because it less important, but because it’s the punctuation I wanted to put at the end of a long sentence. That despite the joy we feel in any given moment, it is often accompanied by some level of fear.

📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸

This week, we look at a world full of new possibilities. Sheila Pree Bright shows us that anyone can be an activist, and Morgana Wingard captures what it's like to survive COVID-19. In recognition of the long-standing horrors of racism, we look back at the Tulsa massacre, which occurred almost 100 years ago and is still an unacknowledged American wound.

Find more of the week's best photo stories here.

THESE ARE THE ACTIVISTS OF THE NEW CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Sheila Pree Bright / Chronicle Books

The work by Atlanta-based photographer Sheila Pree Bright examines the parallels and differences between the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the ongoing protests for racial equality and justice today

THE AFTERMATH OF THE TULSA MASSACRE

Oklahoma Historical Society / Getty Images

On the morning of June 1, 1921, white mobs set fire to Tulsa's Black Wall Street, killing as many as 300 Black residents and leaving thousands more without shelter and livelihoods.

THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SURVIVE COVID-19

Morgana Wingard

"I’m alive and I kiss the ground literally every morning that I wake up.”

📸SOME HOPE 📸

Paul Childs / Reuters

If this doesn't bring you joy, I don't know what will. You’ve got a dog and a little kid riding a horse indoors, with the little kid living his best life. Merlin Coles, 3, watches a horse race from the Royal Ascot Rcecourse on TV at his home while sitting on his horse, Mr. Glitter Sparkles, with his dog, Mistress, in Bere Regis, England, June 17. Dream big, everyone, even if it's absurd.

"That's it from us this time — see you next week!" —Gabriel and Kate

📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Gabriel Sanchez is the photo essay editor based in New York and loves cats. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. You can always reach us here.
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