History of this project

I was very inspired by Jacob Lawrence's "One Way Ticket" work on the black migration to the North. So much so that I decided to take the words from his images and do something with them to "continue" the story so to speak. Paterson is one small city who has shared the same fate with many other cities. I'm interested in the deterioration despite the attempt to revitalize. I'm interested in the way the inner cities project out to the suburbs - meaning problem in the ghetto soon becomes the problems to the bigger community at large like heroin for example. I'm interested in how social systems keep people locked in and how a few get out but most don't. I'm amazed at the human race and our ability to self-destruct.

So as I was looking at Jacob Lawrence's work, I took some of his words - even the 1941 version that uses the word "negro" and decided to put them against some of my dad's pictures and my shots from Google maps.  I saw themes like… they moved for personal safety, job opportunities, to build a better life, to stay in their family systems, to counter poverty and hunger, for better living conditions and to get away from the racism and discrimination of the south. They encountered similar yet different problems, some that kept them trapped in the very thing that they tried to leave. Some people were able to leave - those who had strong determination, lucky breaks or a leg up from a friend or helping hand. Others were taken down by bad luck, bad health, bad choices of someone who's life affected theirs.

Growing up in this environment, I'm sensitive to it. My parents gave their lives to help support people, to build leadership, to encourage healthy systems and choices, to educate the children so they could go somewhere with their lives. They made a systematic effort for 36 years of their lives to help. Since I was born 1 year into their mission, it also became a family mission and I grew up strongly identifying with the plight of those in the inner city, so much so that I found it hard to leave when I grew up and started raising my own family. It's still where my heart lies and that's why I want to do this project.

The pictures are not in order and they are just the beginning of this project. The type is neither the style or size that I plan on using but a beginning. Some captions are used more than once, and I may want to just repeat phrases. Some I might eliminate. Photos are from my father and the internet. Black and white is used to reference documentary photography. Sometimes I used the word "negro", "black" or "african american". Truth is that I find the term "negro" extremely offensive and yet I wanted to use it to both reference the 1941 work of Lawrence and also because it IS offensive and that here is a group of people that have been fighting for their dignity and self-respect for a long time.

I'm both an insider and an outsider. I was born white, to dutch middle class people in the US. By the very color of my skin I can walk into most high class settings and be accepted. I don't fight for any of that. I went to a white, middle class private school because the educational system in Paterson was horrible. My family was able to send me because they were part of a network that paid for my education. Other's weren't as lucky. There were a few of my Black friends that went to school with me, but I'm sure they weren't met with a lot of friendship and love in the white community because I myself felt the tarnish of living in the inner city. My father preached against racism and the backlash came through to me in school. I felt the sting.

In the black community (not my church family) but others called me "ugly white girl". I was not identified as one of them and yet I was not identified as one of the middle class white girls either. I lived with a foot in both worlds.

I am white middle class right now. White middle class peers that do not know me well would assume that I am "one of them". They will speak freely of their impressions and judgments. I tread carefully, as does the rest of my family of origin. We try to educate with grace so that they can understand, but the words usually go right over their heads. Some get it, some don't.

My father died suddenly. His word mattered to me and so many others. Many of his photographs are powerful, telling of a time and a mission. I honor him with this work.

Some of the captions fit the pictures, some do not. Some dreams were realized over time, while some were defeated in time. Some speak of history, some speak of present. I wanted to incorporate words but haven't quite figured out yet how to pull this part together. I like the idea of a repetition of ideas or phrases. I'm interested in the similarities of their story then before migration and now.