Black Target (Birmingham, AL)

Photography, 2023

This photograph was taken at Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, Alabama, featuring my younger brother—an African American boy—standing before the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wearing a black hoodie. Captured at the precise moment a jet streaked diagonally across the sky, the image layers symbolism and tension.

The black hoodie, often weaponized as a visual justification for racial profiling and violence against Black and Brown bodies, contrasts starkly with the legacy of Dr. King—a figure who championed civil rights and fought against systemic prejudice. The composition highlights the painful irony that, decades after King’s fight for justice and equality, racial bias remains deeply embedded in American society.