Native Son brings together photographs made on travels back to my birthplace – Decatur, Georgia – and the greater Atlanta region within the American South. Inspired by a letter my biological mother wrote for me in 1985, I made my first trip back to Decatur in October 2009 interested in establishing a relationship with this place I had long imagined, desired, and felt deeply connected. 

As an outsider, my process was reliant on intuition, chance, and the grace of strangers. Conversational exchanges provided opportunities to listen, inquire, and observe, while in turn, absorb a multitude of diverse perspectives, histories, and facets of lived experience. In search of shared moments, I was seeking to learn from others, and photographing to document and assemble a personal portrait authentic to my encounters and questions of this American region’s profound beauty, mythology, socioeconomic realities, and palpable legacies of racism and violence. 

Taken together, the photographs collected and published as Native Son (VUU, 2014 & 2015), seek to offer a nuanced and lyrical interpretation of my experiences, while underscoring a profound respect, gratitude, and empathy for the individuals depicted. Native Son is the first chapter of an evolving body of work.