It was a moment of inspiration.
I was sitting in the office at Dearborn Homes on Friday afternoon. I was spending the afternoon with Ms. Ricks, the president there. She had been showing me around.
In wandered a girl, about 11 or 12, with long skinny legs, wearing a bright yellow tank top. Ms. Ricks introduced her as Diamond, one of the kids who lived in the neighborhood.
I wanted to pop outside and take a few pictures of some kids playing baseball, when a thought occurred to me.
Last week, I wrote about cameras. Security cameras. My headline,
"Will 3,000 security cameras make Chicago's public housing safer?" sent out on
Twitter prompted this response from Chicago photojournalist
Karen Kring.
@mmcottrell I think 3000 cameras in the hands of kids and encouraging creative expression would help keep kids safer for sure.
KRKring, Mon July 20 09:33
I smiled. What would a camera in the hands of kids in public housing be like? What would they see through the lens?
So it was Karen who inspired me to ask Diamond if she wanted to come take pictures with me.
We started off simple. Dearborn has these great murals painted on all
of its dumpster walls. I asked her to take a picture of one of them for
me.
Diamond
looked at me quizzically. "Who are you?" her eyes seemed to be asking.
It was an awkward moment where I didn't know if she was just going to
leave or whether we should go back to the office.
So I asked her
to take a picture of me in front of the mural. And then I took a
picture of her in front of the next one - her favorite one, full of
cartoon characters.
"Had
I seen the one farther down?" she asked me. I shook my head. She walked
me over.
On the way, she told me how she had lived in four different
buildings at Dearborn. How she was in the middle of four kids - her older
brother Kevonte, and her younger sisters Sparkle and Star. How her life had changed when her father was
shot and killed.
Diamond
was watching me as I took her picture. You can see it a little in her
expression.
She was watching how I took the picture, and pretty soon,
she was getting down on one knee or finding different angles to shoot.
But she was also watching what I said and did.
Other
kids were watching too. They came up to us, one by one and asked her, "Diamond,
who is that?" She explained a little. They looked at me, suspiciously,
curiously. The way you look at a zoo animal you want to see closer, but
are afraid they might bite.
I don't mind. It makes sense to me.
When I spent a summer in an all African-American community, I remember
being surprised when I saw my own face in the bathroom mirror. I was
used to seeing brown faces, and my own pasty complexion looked funny to
me.
For a lot of these kids, white ladies are something you see
downtown, carrying their shopping bags in high heels. Here was one that
talked and giggled. I would stare at me too.
But we soon
became friends. I let Diamond take the reins of the camera, where she
took more and more pictures, and we gathered more and more friends.
African Dance Mural at Dearborn Homes. Photo by Diamond
Diamond's sister, Sparkle. Photo by Diamond
Sparkle takes a picture of Diamond and I
Diamond takes a picture of Sparkle and I
I
had to go. We had friends in town from Texas and had to meet them for dinner. They were disappointed,
but walked me out to my car. They asked me if I had any candy in my car
for them, but sadly I did not. I answered a lot of questions about
where I lived (the North Side), how far away it was (pretty far) and
when I would be back (next week). Everyone took one of my business
cards, as they were pretty and multicolored.
We had to take a few photos before I left, of course.
Our band of merry photographers, as it accumulated.
This one didn't work out too well, due to our differences in height. But it was fun!
I got in my car, and the kids waved.
I will be back soon.
And if you've read this far down, you get a moment of reflection.
I
have a niece who's 15 and lives in a very swanky suburb of Grand
Rapids. She's started her own small photography studio as a way to gain
experience and express herself. The kids I met at Dearborn were pretty
darn impressed by my Canon PowerShot and how you could see the pictures
afterwards. I wonder about them, about how young it starts - the gap
between resources. I wonder how these kids will choose to express
themselves if they don't have cameras or colored pencils or musical
instruments or theater or dance.
And I wonder about myself.
I'm the kind of reporter that's more interested in spending an
afternoon with kids than with finding a big story. What kind of
reporter does that make me? Do I get too close to the story? I'm sure
the answer is yes. At least, from the perspective of my colleagues. But
I don't know how to be any different. I love people, and I love
stories. I love getting to know them, and in the process, they always
seem to get to know me too.
No profound statements today. No big takeaway or provocative question. Just a little reflection, and an afternoon of fun.
Oh, and if you have 3,000 cameras, or maybe even one or two to share - give me a call. I have some friends who could use one.
9 Comments
feliciacago said:
It makes you a genuinely talented reporter.
ltargos said:
Project focus at UIC has several projects where they give people cameras and have them write photo essays about the pictures they took. Great article and very honest. I really enjoyed it!
jessicagalliart said:
Your blog is by far my favorite on ChicagoNow, and it's because of posts like this.
And I actually do have an old digital camera I'd love to part ways with to give to the kids. It's definitely a great starter camera, and I'd rather it go to great kids like these instead of collect dust in my apartment.
Really enjoyed viewing/reading this. Keep up the excellent work, Megan!
Craig Kanalley said:
Loved this piece, Megan! Your writing is impeccable and this is a really powerful story enhanced by the images. A camera can do wonderful things and glad you could share in that bond with Diamond.
rhoticity said:
Megan, I want to make this happen. I'm serious. I'm a University of Chicago student and I think I know of some good connections to get the funding, resources and volunteers. It wouldn't be 3,000 cameras, but I agree--even one or two cameras could really make a difference. Having lived on the South Side for three years I know exactly what you mean when you talk about "the look". It's haunted and inspired me, too.
If you want to contact me, my email is jessi (dot) moths (at) gmail (dot) com.
-Jessi
surpriseimnate said:
One of my favorite stories on your blog yet! The personal touch is what makes your reporting interesting and relevant.
Don said:
I don't think you are too close to this story - it's a wonderful, real-life tale that warms the heart. Thanks, Megan.
lizjoyntsandberg said:
not too close! don't buy that hype!
Ryan Flynn said:
Very cool. You always get me inspired to go out and talk to people in my neighborhood more. People get so closed off from one another.
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