Karen Zusman
I shot these images and wrote the accompanying poems in early March, but today they seem more relevant. A week into the Black Lives Matter protests in NYC, and as I meet and speak with many women of color—protesters and police officers—I learn even more about the power that’s unleashed with their collective voice. According to the Center for American Progress, Women of Color make up 30% of voting age women. And black women had the highest voter turnout in 2012 out of any demographic. While voter suppression—especially targeted at people of color—is a serious obstacle, there are new groups led by black woman that are forming, organizing and mobilizing every day to overcome it. And black women continue to register and vote at one of the highest rates in the country.
When I began to think about 100 years of women’s suffrage, and in particular, black women’s suffrage, I felt disheartened at how far the distance that’s still needed to travel. “Dear Sojourner” echoes that sorrow. But after this week, as I have been witnessing and engaging with this community at a closer, more impassioned range, I feel more hopeful. “The one who rose,” gains new meaning in light of what’s been happening on our streets, and I believe this moment of collective protest—with many young black women activists at the heart of it—will make a considerable impact at the polls. The strength of black women in this moment is unparalleled. 2020 may go down in history as one of the most challenging years ever, and it may also go down as the year when black women, with the power of their voice—and their vote—finally made black lives matter.
I came to photography while recording an audio story about a group of Burmese refugees who had been sold to human traffickers by Malaysian immigration officials. This work was self-funded with the exception of a travel grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting; and was featured on PBS and NPR. I was not a photographer at the time, but the situation inspired me to jump in. Recently self-taught in photography but with an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, my intent is to capture visual poems that are composed on the streets of the world and tell a universal story of human longing and connection. My work is a mix of candid portraiture and street photography. I photograph what touches me, knowing that if I’m moved, there’s a good chance other people will be moved as well. In the last year, my street photography has been exhibited in NYC, Miami, Milan, Warsaw, Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires and Bogota. Currently, I’m working on projects in Brooklyn, NY and a long-term photography project in Cuba—a personal examination of myself and my relationships with the people who live there—with the goal to publish as a book.
instagram: @kzusman
