Mainstream society continues to see black people based on our physical characteristics, hair being one of them. And today in 2019, black hair is just as political as it ever has been.

This year’s group of talented men are literally beating the odds everyday. They are beating the odds that say they should be dead or back behind bars. They are not only surviving, but thriving.

As you explore the images in this collection we hope that you will be inspired to do your own research, connect the dots on your own ancestral story, and learn about the cultures that birthed you.

While many are taken aback by these senseless acts of violence, I believe that these killings are part of a larger war on the black body, started not by the pulling of a trigger, but by the images that are placed in the media for our consumption.

The “Achievement Gap” has been labeled a modern day civil rights issue. Schools today are more segregated than they were before integration, and students in urban schools are failing to graduate with the basic skills necessary for success in a college classroom.

With Minnesota and Pennsylvania’s Voter ID laws being challenged in court, there is much to be said about the push to tighten voter registration across the country. On one side of the debate the Right Wing is arguing that fraudulent voter registration forms are being turned in and people are assuming other identities. On the other side is Viviette Applewhite. Viviette is a 93 year old woman without a driver’s