BLACK LIVES MATTER — Memphis July 10th, 2016

I’m a white guy that grew up in the suburbs of Memphis. Collierville, then Cordova to be exact.

I recently moved to Highland Heights and my wife and I are out of the burbs. We love it and feel a part of the community.

We went on a bike ride Sunday afternoon to meet up with some friends and while we were hanging out on this wonderful afternoon at Beale Street Landing I began to see a multitude of people marching and chanting. I then knew it was part of the Black Lives Matter movement and had to capture the moment.

“Hands up, guns down, Hands up, don’t shoot…”

As I began taking stills with my Canon 5dmiii & my Zeiss 50mm 2.0 Makro I was asked if I was there to “just take pictures” or “to be a part of the movement.” I responded and said, “Both. Someone has to document this and yes I believe in the movement.” as I lifted my hand up in a fist.

I ran into a few people that I knew as I began walking, but I didn’t see too many white people. I then began telling a U of M colleague of mine, Tevin Mclnnis that the same morning during our house church gathering we took time to talk about the atrocities that had happened this past week and how we could be a part. I mentioned to him that we all talked about this and were all a bunch of white people sitting around. He looked at me and said, “Being here and doing what you are doing is exactly how to be a part.”

Let me be clear here, I’m a guy that loves other cultures. I’ve been to Europe, South America and Africa. I love foods, differences, music and everything that has to do with different ethnicities and cultures.

Unfortunately I didn’t grow up around much variety. I had to first leave the country and my comforts. Being in another country and learning another languages teaches you a lot. Especially, in my case, marrying another culture & language affects the way you see the world.

To understand our black community (not theirs, OURS as we are to be TOGETHER and not separate) we must interact with our black brothers & sisters, fight for justice, equality and innocent lives.

It was an honor to be there and document this moment in time through photography.

Let me end with my most recent post on Instagram:

It’s a beautiful thing to support and love others. It’s better to be an eye witness and make up your mind than to sit at home and watch biased news. Yes, many are angry and have the right to be. Yes, all lives matter. Yes, we all can stand together, fight injustice and try to make the world a better place. Stopping traffic for a few hours, inconveniencing drivers and Amazon packages is not the end of the world. Sometimes to make a point you have to do drastic things. In Guatemala when teachers want their wages to not be lowered and desire to fight the system they leave their classrooms an burn tires in the streets, blocking traffic for hours. When bus drivers in Uruguay want their wages to be just, they agree on a day and do not show up for work and they make their point as many people rely on public transportation to work, go to school and such. Strikes help, come on Americans, get with the program. Let’s fight for social justice. Finally, we should all look at things from many perspectives, seek to understand before being understood. #choose901 until you can say you were there, keep your mouth shut.

Another blog about “Shooting a Documentary in South Sudan” coming soon.

-Aaron