BLACK EXPRESSION" THE HUB BLM CAMPAIGN 2020

STORY BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN

This campaign was inspired by the reality of black existence. We have always been here and not just momentarily present for a trend. I wanted to capture black emotion at this time. To let myself be affected and show how things are falling, wherever they may.

Although we have been discovered through so much pain and injustice, so many eyes are opening because of who we are. But we are more than just a hashtag of #POC and while our #BLACKLIVESMATTER, our black lives also are here to stay and have a lot to offer. We are people. We are real and we have always been here. But you have chosen to look when everyone around you is looking instead of seeking out the beauty that has been around you all this time. We are more than that. We are real. I want to challenge this stigma of go blackout for one day. I want to challenge the idea that this is just one day that we acknowledge but instead we are choosing to see by letting ourselves become affected beyond just a day.

These images are going against the lie that all people of color have the same story with the statement of “I thought all black people were the same.” Look at these expressions. These faces. Every person of color is dealing with the same issue on different levels. Not every black person is the same in thought, looks, expression, strength, weakness, voice, power and look. Look and notice that every face has a different narrative than the other. Totally different but equally significant experiences with racism and the topic of race.

With the injustice of racism, we all need to love and go deeper with the people next to us. Those are the people that need you. We can change the world most efficiently with the people right next to us. Don’t reach out but reach around and grab the people around you and start the conversation.

The solution is slowly maturing if we allow it to.

Blackness is not a trend. We have always been here.

As a black creative, I had to let myself get affected. When The Hub reached out to me about this campaign I knew I had to do it and press in. I wanted to capture black emotion at this time. To let myself be affected and show how things are falling, wherever they may. Get real messy with it and just let my heart be moved in whatever direction it needed to. Because something that I used for inspiration like social media became my news channel 24/7. I lost all inspiration and just was sad. As a black creative this is the way that I chose to show my response to the topic of race towards the black community in America.

PRODUCTION TEAM

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Kc Filzen

CREATIVE DIRECTION:

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CAST:

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“In this season I feel muted and trying not to be muted. I don’t know if my eyes were glossy but they feel like it and I don’t want to feel the silence.”
- Tyesha C

“Ahah I am tried. That’s it. I’m tired.”
- Josh R

“
I just want to hear more of your thoughts on the Breonna Taylor storyline right now?
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“Umm when you said that anxiety rose inside….ahh. Because that literally could have been me. Why is it hard for Breonna to get her justice? It’s not fair at all. Ahhh God.”
- Hailey P

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It’s already hard to get justice in the Black Community on stuff like this but why do you think it’s extra hard to get it for a girl like her?
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“I think it’s cause…well I think just in all of this and in everything Black Lives Matter. You hear about guys. You hear about men. You hear George Floyd. You hear Ahmaud Arbery. You hear Sandra Bland but like you don’t hear women a lot. And then….I don’t know why it’s hard for her to like actually get justice for her…or just anyone but.. it just doesn’t make sense at all and the fact that people are still walking free. Literally it doesn’t make sense at all.”
- Hailey P