Why I’m Raising Funds

TRUE AMERICAN is my long-term mixed media project exploring the tension between Black identity and American identity—examining patriotism, memory, power, belonging, and the contradictions at the heart of this country’s promise.

What began as a photographic inquiry has grown into a much larger body of work that combines portraiture, documentary storytelling, research, historical inquiry, and print publication.

This summer marks a critical next chapter in the project.

To continue building the work with the depth and care it requires, I’ll be traveling throughout the American South—regions central to Black American history, migration, resistance, labor, and national identity.

The next phase includes:

• field research

• image-making

• community-based storytelling

• archival inquiry

• continued production

• development of a physical print publication connected to the project

I’m raising $10,000 to help support this next stage of TRUE AMERICAN and move the work toward completion.

As an independent artist, long-form projects like this are often built through a combination of grants, institutional support, and community belief.

If my work has ever resonated with you—through an image, an exhibition, a conversation, or the larger questions it asks—I’d be deeply grateful for your support.