The Civil Rights Movement that held between 1954 and 1968 led a revolution that changed the course of history and whilst racism is still an issue today, People can reference the what the movement stood for and sort of feel for themselves the power that came from the protests by merely looking at photograph that documented that painful part of history.
Over 50 Years later, Not much has changed and the unjust killing of George Floyd has sparked a revolutionary uprising with the masses demanding changes and reforms for the furtherance of the black race and humanity at large. This is history happening right now and its our responsibility as photographers and filmmakers to ensure that history is documented from a neutral unbiased point of view so that generations unborn can reference these times and acknowledge the struggle that hopefully led to better times.
Photography has always been a storytelling tool with little need for words and if history is to be preserved without the taint of human bias, then its on photographers to bridge the space between opinions and side and capture the stories and emotions as they are. Today’s Protest is Tomorrow’s History lesson and its our responsibility that that history is as accurate as accurate could be.
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All Images used with shot by Leonard Okpor and used with permission, Leonard Okpor is a Nigerian Portrait Photographer currently based in New York. You can follow him on Instagram here or visit his website by clicking here.
