Photo by Andrew Kilgore Joe Daniels is one of the many African American men who have had their portrait taken by local photographer Andrew Kilgore. Daniels will be the moderator at the Let There Be Light community conversation event this Saturday morning at St. James Baptist Church, 764 North Street in Fayetteville.
In a country that seems to continue to get more and more polarized by ideologies and racial strife, members of the Fayetteville community will come together to host an event to strengthen empathy for the city’s Black population — specifically its male youth and elders.
This Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, Compassion Fayetteville and the UA Black Graduate Students’ Association will host “Let There Be Light Community Conversation and Exhibition” at St. James Baptist Church at 764 North St. in Fayetteville.
The event will feature a discussion by African American men, young and old, who will be sharing their hopes and challenges they face in society. An exhibition by Andrew Kilgore of 20 photographs of local African American young men will be displayed with an audience question and answer segment at the end of the program.
Saturday’s event is part of a an initiative by The Compassion Fayetteville Black History Team to “promote the Black community as present, relevant and visible as well as to celebrate, appreciate and honor contributions made by Black Fayetteville citizens,” said Pattie Williams, co-founder of Compassion Fayetteville, the organization co-hosting the event.
Kilgore’s project, “Let There Be Light,” is expected to eventually include portraits of one hundred Black men. The response and success of last year’s showing of portraits of 17 Black men in Fayetteville led to this upcoming weekend’s event.
“I love the 20 photographs we’re going to debut,” Kilgore said. “I’m looking forward to seeing people’s response to them. The whole thing is putting a take on the experience of people that are different than ourselves. It’s a visual, direct, intuitive, and emotional kind of thing.”
The portraits exclusively feature Black youth ages 15 to 18 who attend the Fayetteville Alternative Learning Center.
“There is everything from defiance to vulnerability to joy to grief in the portraits,” Williams said. “I just saw them on the computer for the first time the other day. It’s pretty amazing.”
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Kilgore A portrait of a Fayetteville teen from the 80s by Andrew Kilgore.
The Agee-Liery Life Preparation Services Center, usually referred to as the Alternative School, offers educational programs to meet the needs of students whose needs aren’t being met in traditional classrooms. For example, some students who are referred to the campus have disruptive behaviors, mental health issues, have been abused, are single parents or homeless. The school offers counseling, professional development and various opportunities such as apprenticeships and incentives for students to accelerate their learning to graduate on time or prepare for their GED.
“I joined the cause because I like the message and the purpose,” said Denise Hoy, principal of the Alternative School, who helped facilitate the portraits of her students. “In light of all the things that are happening in the media, I like the idea that Fayetteville is being proactive and trying to understand and know these cultural differences, as opposed to react to a situation.”
In addition to the unveiling, the event will feature public conversations with four youth who had their portraits taken as well as a few retired African American males to observe the juxtaposition of the two generations and what their lives entail.
Joseph Daniels, president of the UA Black Graduate Students’ Association, will moderate a conversation with both groups. Some of the questions that will be asked and discussed will include what their dreams and struggles are and the obstacles that have hindered them from pursuing their dreams, as well as how they feel they are being treated in society and what they feel they need from society.
“This provides a time for us to take time so we can build our community together,” Daniels said. “The entire series that Mr. Kilgore has put together has given us a opportunity to shine a light and paint a picture of the challenges African Americans face in society. It’s hard to get society to see African American males who are 16 to 25 in a certain light. Society tends to stereotype and paint a picture of who they are. That’s why we’re speaking to high school students to give them a voice and so the community can hear their dreams.”
Photo courtesy of Andrew Kilgore In the 80s, local photographer Andrew Kilgore made portraits of young African American men. This Saturday, he will be unveiling 17 more portraits of young African Americans in the second installment of the Let There Be Light community conversation series.
About 6 percent of the Fayetteville population identifies as African American, according to census data from 2013.
“Our vision is we need to surface the fact there are Blacks in the community as well as they are a huge part of our history,” Williams said. “We want to foster a sense of connection among all of us, and cultivate ways for the Black percent to be heard and encourage ways for inclusive opportunities.”
Along with the conversation and the unveiling, two students from the Alternative school will do vocal performances,
“The city will get the unique opportunity to hear stories of every face of the male experience of the African American male,” said D’Andre Jones, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Urban League’s board of directors. “I think this will be a great educational opportunity and will help set the stage for unity and awareness.”
