Images that Offer Fresh Takes on Minority Communities
A selection of work by photographers seeking to move beyond stereotypical depictions of communities of color
Feyisola Oduyebo, 17, gets her make-up done by her friends while getting ready for her senior prom in Brooklyn, New York Cassandra Giraldo
May 15, 2017
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A New Focus
Newsroom diversity—racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic—has received a lot of attention since last year’s election, but a lack of equity and inclusivity among those who work behind the documentary camera remains an often overlooked problem. With the recognition that, when both photographers in the field and photo editors in the newsroom are primarily white and male, news images reflect that singular perspective, a growing number of individuals and organizations are working to address the issue.
The best visual journalism displays the human condition as honestly and thoroughly as possible. The photographers highlighted in these pages give us more than overly simplistic depictions of violence, devastation, and criminality too often attached to minority populations the world over. From the images of Muslim women in Michigan and male church members in Arkansas praying to high school band members warming up before a football game and the playful exuberance of skateboarders on Atlanta city streets, these photographs depict lives much larger than the snapshots of war and disaster we see most often associated with black and brown people. This work reaches toward that goal of depicting holistic lives, evading stereotypes, and gesturing toward the possibility of shared humanity.
West Memphis (Ark.) Sr. High School Band members warm up before a Friday night football game Aaron Turner
Male members at a Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Turrell, Arkansas join hands in prayer Aaron Turner
A New Focus
Newsroom diversity—racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic—has received a lot of attention since last year’s election, but a lack of equity and inclusivity among those who work behind the documentary camera remains an often overlooked problem. With the recognition that, when both photographers in the field and photo editors in the newsroom are primarily white and male, news images reflect that singular perspective, a growing number of individuals and organizations are working to address the issue.
