Black Presence Project
Black people live a multitude of experiences/perspectives. While much of how we interact with the world – and how the world interacts with us – can be linked by our skin color, too often we’re lumped together because of our common traits, our nuance tossed aside. So much of who we are and how we see this world comes from our individual realities.
Refocusing from Black history onto the Black present, and to show that Black people are not a monolith, the Black Presence Project pairs portraits and stories to illustrate the diverse nature of being Black in America.
WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH
“…As an Afro Latina I have to balance because you know, it’s one of those things that you hear Americans saying…like I’m too this for this race but not enough for that race.”
– Andréa
“I don’t identify it as like a traumatic experience. I’ve heard those stories but for me, um, even talking about blackness and just being aware of it really, to be honest, wasn’t a thing…”
– Devonte
“…I have had the privilege of living in multiple countries, on multiple continents; and that question changes based on where I am, because what it is to be black here in America is not what it is to be black anywhere else.”
– Damon
