How does a Black mother prepare herself and her family for the violence that may be done to her child? Jon Henry's series Stranger Fruit confronts us with intimate images of Black mothers grieving their sons. But these sons are not dead. They have been shot only by Henry, imagining through his photographs what too many parents, grandparents, siblings, and other family members and friends also imagine everyday: that America's ubiquitous violence against black bodies will snatch away someone they hold dear. How do we respond to such imaginings? What do they demand of us as viewers, as readers, and as human beings?
Join us on Wednesday, March 24, at 5:00pm Pacific time, as Lois Leveen leads a discussion of Henry's photographs paired with the poetry of Danez Smith.
REFOCUSING is a Free Salon-From-Anywhere program from Blue Sky Gallery, in which we explore ways to redefine and strengthen community by engaging online with photographs and with each other.