My second experiment is a photo essay that studies three people across three generations: my grandmother, my mother, and myself. I will interview my mother and grandmother while writing my own responses through self-reflecting. The interview questions will focus on each subjects’ experiences with colorism throughout their life. Colorism, as defined by Oxford Dictionaries, is “the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group.” Colorism comes up in many different cultures, but my photo will specifically focus on colorism in the African American community. My photo essay will also be similar to a case study, examining some of the factors that have influenced the way each person interacts with the world. Two of the main things I plan to focus on in my interviews is how each person’s parents influenced their views on colorism and also what colorism has meant to them throughout their own lives. My origin piece was a collection of short open letters addressed to my future daughter. I think this essay will allow me to see how this sentiment actually manifests in reality. This experiment is important because family values and outlooks are passed down from generation to generation and have a big impact on how one experiences the world around them.

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The audience is, of course, my family, but it is also other Black families who have yet to analyze and question their own beliefs, considering where they came from and what they mean. My audience is also other people of various backgrounds who visit my website. This means that I need to make my content accessible and understandable to people who may not be as familiar with colorism and what effects it has on communities. On a personal level, I find it exciting to learn new things about my family that I never knew and to understand the legacy of acceptance and self-love that my grandma instilled in her daughter and her daughter instilled in me. I think it is important for other Black people to empower themselves through family, love, and strength.

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My photo essay is focused around themes of parenting, marriage, education, the media, relationships, and gender. I chose these topics because they seemed most relevant to colorism. One’s skin tone closely connects to gender and gender connects to almost every aspect of society but specifically things like marriage, relationships, the media, and parenting. I also included education because a huge portion of our childhood and early adult lives are spent socializing and interacting in schools, so it undoubtedly has an effect on our understanding of colorism. All of these topics will come up through the questions I ask and the responses that are given.