The world has countless freedoms that it exercises the right to use daily. Some of us use those freedoms better than others. Why is that? I believe that our ideals and perceptions are shaped by variations of our exposure to our thoughts about colors. Most people overlook the impact of color. Think about it, from the time that we're conceived, the divide of color is born right along with us. Little boys are put on the blue side, and little girls on the pink side.
This concept didn't fully dawn on me until the birth of the "Freddie Gray" protests here in Baltimore, Maryland. Now I know that many of you are asking, "what does the death of a man have to do with color"? I believe that our upbringing contributes heavily in shaping how we see color. I also believe that color is a stand alone word. It's often used to categorize things in ways that people don't even realize. Ironically, it even applies to those who are visually impaired. It's used as a sorter/divider, and more often than not, it creates divisions that last for generations.
In the case of "Freddie Gray", my level of awareness as it relates to the depth of color increased tremendously. During the time of unrest and protest, I was able to narrow down the three most important colors in society. I found them to be, blue, white, and black. They could arguably be the most important colors of the color wheel as it relates to our daily existence. To some, blue has traditionally been used to represent {justice} and {safety}. To others it represents {corruption} and {deception}. With respect to white, the definition has always pointed to {purity} and/or some form of {cleanliness}. Lastly, there's black. It's a layered color, historically black has been portrayed as a {symbol of strength}, and/or a threat to the colors blue and white. I'm of the opinion that it's due to the depth of black. Historically the color black has been the anchor to all other colors.
I know that many of you are thinking of race at this point, but stay on track, we're talking about colors.
After standing with countless other photographers from across the country, I had to find something that put my journalistic instincts into perspective. I had to separate my emotions from everything that wasn't peaceful and true to what my eyes were showing me. My thoughts quickly boiled down to what everyone else wasn't talking about. Three colors, blue, white and black. In the midst of the madness, I made a conscious decision to change how people see colors. I decided on the first day to change the narrative to what people weren't focusing on. I wanted people to start having simple conversation about the impact of colors...
Below are a few images that speak to for themselves as it relates to the narrative above.
This concept didn't fully dawn on me until the birth of the "Freddie Gray" protests here in Baltimore, Maryland. Now I know that many of you are asking, "what does the death of a man have to do with color"? I believe that our upbringing contributes heavily in shaping how we see color. I also believe that color is a stand alone word. It's often used to categorize things in ways that people don't even realize. Ironically, it even applies to those who are visually impaired. It's used as a sorter/divider, and more often than not, it creates divisions that last for generations.
In the case of "Freddie Gray", my level of awareness as it relates to the depth of color increased tremendously. During the time of unrest and protest, I was able to narrow down the three most important colors in society. I found them to be, blue, white, and black. They could arguably be the most important colors of the color wheel as it relates to our daily existence. To some, blue has traditionally been used to represent {justice} and {safety}. To others it represents {corruption} and {deception}. With respect to white, the definition has always pointed to {purity} and/or some form of {cleanliness}. Lastly, there's black. It's a layered color, historically black has been portrayed as a {symbol of strength}, and/or a threat to the colors blue and white. I'm of the opinion that it's due to the depth of black. Historically the color black has been the anchor to all other colors.
I know that many of you are thinking of race at this point, but stay on track, we're talking about colors.
After standing with countless other photographers from across the country, I had to find something that put my journalistic instincts into perspective. I had to separate my emotions from everything that wasn't peaceful and true to what my eyes were showing me. My thoughts quickly boiled down to what everyone else wasn't talking about. Three colors, blue, white and black. In the midst of the madness, I made a conscious decision to change how people see colors. I decided on the first day to change the narrative to what people weren't focusing on. I wanted people to start having simple conversation about the impact of colors...
Below are a few images that speak to for themselves as it relates to the narrative above.
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
Photo by: J.J. McQueen
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