Since I began
making photographs of small (mostly rural) black
communities in the U.S., my emphasis has been on the towns
and settlements that were an expression of
self-determination, even within the context of limited
choices (i.e. segregation). The photographs in this
portfolio are closely connected to my other projects about
the African American community, however it also represents
a departure from the monochromatic images of black towns
and colored schools. The use of African fabric and colors
is central the appearance and identity of the African
Hebrew Israelite, Village of Peace. For these descendants
of African slaves brought to the U.S., they celebrate their
arrival in “The Land” (Israel) with a May event called the
“New World Passover”. Color is a means of delineating their
lives in a “New World” (commonly considered the ancient
world) from an “Old World” (often referred to as the new
world).
The photographs in this project were made in the African
Hebrew Israelite community of Dimona, Israel. It was
established more than 35 years ago by a group of African
Americans from the Chicago area. They left the U.S. in
1967, lived in Liberia for more than two years, and settled
in Israel's Negev desert. The images in this portfolio
describe various aspects of daily life.
Pictures
from a New World: An African American Village in
Israelis an extension
of my other works that address the historical traditions of
African American communities including;Small
Towns, Black Lives: African American Communities in
Southern New JerseyandSchools for
the Colored: Up-South, Between the Mississippi River and
the Atlantic Ocean. The
photographs are a continuation of my involvement with the
various iterations of community and identity for African
Americans.
