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 On Monday, Nov. 21 2011, a group of African American photographers launched a partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: a photography blog aimed at providing more positive, fuller images of African American life in Pittsburgh.
It is rooted in a community project that began six years ago to willfully counter some of the all-too-often negative portrayals of African American people in the local mainstream media. The blog was inspired by the work of Charles “Teenie” Harris, an NABJ Hall of Fame honoree.
Through these images, our intent is to inspire others, promote the work, careers and professional development of participating photographers.
“Feel Like Going On” was founded by journalist Ervin Dyer as a way to respond to the lack of positive images of Blacks in mainstream newspapers. It was also a way to celebrate the legacy of Mr. Harris -- a prolific photographer whose iconic images of celebrities and regular folks earned him a 2005 Hall of Fame honor with the National Association of Black Journalists and whose photography is now garnering national attention in a retrospective of his work at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
"Praying" by Butler
"TigerGirl" by Ford
"Dont Be Actin" by Moye
"Peeping" by Watkins
The “Feel Like Going On” blog, in addition to showcasing the 40 images there were a part of the original exhibition, will allow a core group of photographers to regularly contribute fine art images, news images, and photographs of life as it unfolds in black Pittsburgh’s churches, communities, workspaces, playgrounds etc. Monica Haynes, an independent journalist, was a founding partner and organizer. We are also grateful to Janera Solomon, who curated the original exhibition. A special thanks to artist Sandra Gould Ford, a member of the original group, for her suggestion that “Feel Like Going On” become a part of the blogosphere and her early organizing efforts to help this project endure, expand, and to live again in a new medium. A central mission of the collective of photographers will also be to educate and support the careers of the local photographers. The “Feel Like Going On” blog will initially feature the work of a “core group” of photographers but the organizers hope to recruit others.
While the photographers are carrying out this project in part to honor Harris, they also have a mission to help people to understand that when Harris was no longer able to record black life with his camera, the community he photographed did not disappear.
“This is an effort to document and celebrate the fullness of life in the African-American community and the people who in spite of challenges and struggles,” says Dyer, “feel like going on.”
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE
"FEEL LIKE GOING ON" BLOG!
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