I write this as the editor of Digital Camera World. As a journalist. As a photographer. As a person of color. As a human being.
There isn't much I can say – I certainly don't have the vocabulary to heal wounds that have been salted for hundreds of years – but I have to say something.
Something to the family and friends of George Floyd. Something to the protestors, literally fighting for human rights in the streets. Something to every member of the black community that has been collectively trodden on, by far too many for far too long. Something to every member of the photographic community, who have been complicit in this marginalization by our failure to adequately represent our fellow human beings.
We can do better. We must do better. We will do better.
On a professional level, I will do more. More to make black voices heard on Digital Camera World, and to better showcase black photographers and black subjects. On a personal level, I will do more. More to photograph black subjects, like my friend Selucus – the model at the top of this article, who knew George Floyd personally.
And as a parent company, Future Plc has pledged to do more – across all its platforms, all its websites and magazines and production outlets – to better represent black people, black culture and black lives.
Because black lives matter. Not as a political statement, but as a fundamental truth.
If you don't understand what Black Lives Matter is, what the movement entails, why it's so important or how you can help, visit the website to learn how to contribute to this pivotal point in human history.
And, if your response to the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag is to respond #AllLivesMatter, educate yourself on why that response is inappropriate. Vox has an article that articulates this brilliantly.
We can do better. We must do better. We will do better. And we start now.
