This past Thanksgiving holiday I took my annual family trip to my home town, High Point, North Carolina. As usual it was an action packed week of good eats and life lessons. Earlier this year I decided that with each visit home that I would film and/or photograph High Point the way that I see it.
Seeing a place that you've known and loved your entire life thru the lens of a camera is totally different than seeing it day to day. Knowing the cracks of the pavement without looking down, or knowing position of the sun with each season that passes and telling time by it with no watch. All of the above move me when I think about home.
So on the last day of my trip I started walking and I realized what I should have a long time ago, "There's Something in the Water". The untold stories and secrets of the photos below help reveal the untapped heritage of the black and white divisions and decisions of High Point.
For example, I walked up Washington Street and a guy stopped me on his bike and said, "look over there if you want a good picture, they're three brothers painting on a wall". Of course with the times I was a pretty cautious, but the journalist in me decided to put his back to the wall and find out the truth. The guy was right, there were three sub 4o year old black men painting a tribute at 613 Washington Street of Who's Who in the Afro-American community. I recognized many of the faces from childhood. A few hundred yards away sits a billion dollar furniture district known to an unknown number of people across the globe. In between there lies the tracks of freedom from the generations of yesteryear and to those of the present and future.
Last but not least, the John Coltrane statue. The final element that solidifies that the water is rich in "little ole" High Point. If you visit the painting at 613 Washington Street, for those of you that don't know it will unlock many of the traditions and stories that make High Point unique. Go find it. It's there.
This is a project that I'll continue to lose myself in because I know without a shadow of a doubt, that "There's Something in the Water".
Mr. Anthony Belton of the Changing & Tides Cultural Center
The Freedom Tracks
Comments
Nice work!
Anthony Belton, one of the painters of the wall you photographed is my brother.
He recently relocated to High Point. He is an awesome artist and activist in that town. You should check out some of his other works, he is very gifted. Thanks for sharing.