What a thrill to unveil the cover of a book that took over a decade to have the courage to write. I wrote the book to expose the facts: there was a time when Americans reckoned with and saw the fictions—the lies—used to legitimate the nation’s regime of racial hierarchy and learned to disregard them. The true significance of this hidden history and its full legacy has gone unseen—until now. The surprising catalyst occurred in the nineteenth century when the Caucasian War—the fight for independence in the Caucasus that coincided with the end of the US Civil War—revealed the instability of the entire regime of racial domination. Images of the Caucasus region and peoples captivated the American public but also showed that the place from which we derive “Caucasian” for whiteness was not white at all. Cultural and political figures ranging from P. T. Barnum to Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois to Woodrow Wilson recognized such fictions and more, exploiting, unmasking, critiquing, or burying them. To acknowledge the falsehood at the core of racial order proved unthinkable, especially as Jim Crow and segregation took hold. Sight became a form of racial sculpture, vision a knife excising what no longer served the stability of racial hierarchy. That stability was shaped, crucially, by what was left out, what we have been conditioned not to see. The Unseen Truth shows how visual tactics have long secured our regime of racial hierarchy in spite of its false foundations—and offers a way to begin to dismantle it. I’m so grateful to all who willed this book out of me, and who were with me on the journey! A few dear friends, years ago, thought this book would put me in the witness protection program. It was understandable. It started with research on the Caucasian War and once bore that title. I’m so grateful for their belief in me to write the book that this has become. Of course, you know who is on the cover: a work by the divine Carrie Mae Weems, designed by Pacific. Here’s to the fire of truth. Here’s to the beauty of surrender. Onward with total joy. Link in bio for pre-orders. #UnseenTruth #WhenRaceChangedSight #visionandjustice
So much fun at the Gordon Parks gala honoring his courageous legacy and how it manifests in our culture today.
So much fun at the Gordon Parks gala honoring his courageous legacy and how it manifests in our culture today.
So much fun at the Gordon Parks gala honoring his courageous legacy and how it manifests in our culture today.
So much fun at the Gordon Parks gala honoring his courageous legacy and how it manifests in our culture today.
My second article for harvard was just published about @visionandjustice taught by the incredible @sarahelizabethlewis1 !! 📸📝 It was an honor to work with Professor Lewis and these incredible students over the past semester to expand upon what we learned in the classroom and bring my, and their, photographic vision to life. Thank you to everyone who made this possible (shoutout @stephanie_blair_mitchell – could not have done it without you) 🙂 Check out the link in my bio to read the article and learn more about V J and these students 😸😸
My second article for harvard was just published about @visionandjustice taught by the incredible @sarahelizabethlewis1 !! 📸📝 It was an honor to work with Professor Lewis and these incredible students over the past semester to expand upon what we learned in the classroom and bring my, and their, photographic vision to life. Thank you to everyone who made this possible (shoutout @stephanie_blair_mitchell – could not have done it without you) 🙂 Check out the link in my bio to read the article and learn more about V J and these students 😸😸
My second article for harvard was just published about @visionandjustice taught by the incredible @sarahelizabethlewis1 !! 📸📝 It was an honor to work with Professor Lewis and these incredible students over the past semester to expand upon what we learned in the classroom and bring my, and their, photographic vision to life. Thank you to everyone who made this possible (shoutout @stephanie_blair_mitchell – could not have done it without you) 🙂 Check out the link in my bio to read the article and learn more about V J and these students 😸😸
Dylan Goodman—watch out for her! One of my new favorite photographers and also my extraordinary former student and incredible human being created a stunning photo essay inspired by the Vision & Justice course and Richard Avedon specially. Thank you dear Dylan! It is such a privilege to teach and you all inspire so. I am moved to tears by what you wrote. #harvard #visionandjustice
Dylan Goodman—watch out for her! One of my new favorite photographers and also my extraordinary former student and incredible human being created a stunning photo essay inspired by the Vision & Justice course and Richard Avedon specially. Thank you dear Dylan! It is such a privilege to teach and you all inspire so. I am moved to tears by what you wrote. #harvard #visionandjustice
Dylan Goodman—watch out for her! One of my new favorite photographers and also my extraordinary former student and incredible human being created a stunning photo essay inspired by the Vision & Justice course and Richard Avedon specially. Thank you dear Dylan! It is such a privilege to teach and you all inspire so. I am moved to tears by what you wrote. #harvard #visionandjustice
Love how Terrence Jennings stopped to capture our love for Aggie Gund at the fabulous Gordon Parks gala. Beautiful. Always giving her her flowers.
Joy! Pre-gaming! And Amy Sherald’s speech to salute Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats at the Gordon Parks gala was beautiful! No surprise. Here’s to the thrill and honor of celebrating the artists brought together by the legacy of Parks and his extraordinary work! Photo by: @carlocatastrophe
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival this year, joining over 200 leaders, curated by Tina Brown, to consider how we find light in dark times. My first time at Aspen let me meet the great Congressman John Lewis. My book The Rise had just been published and we had a book signings together, side my side. I’ll never forgot how he spent that time—trying to figure out if we, Lewis’s, could be related. He was so sweet. I remember that often, as I think of how we are all in lineage with him, and so deeply in his debt as we all work to shine a light for others. Here’s to the journey and more surprises this year.
LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER. So thrilled for my Sis and all those who will be touched by her stunning exhibition that just opened at MoMA in NYC curated by none other than Roxana Marcoci. Did we ever celebrate last night. Aggie Gund came decked. Dolores Huerta. My goodness. Here’s to this work that will last for the ages and represents the full force of the work of culture for justice in the United States
LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER. So thrilled for my Sis and all those who will be touched by her stunning exhibition that just opened at MoMA in NYC curated by none other than Roxana Marcoci. Did we ever celebrate last night. Aggie Gund came decked. Dolores Huerta. My goodness. Here’s to this work that will last for the ages and represents the full force of the work of culture for justice in the United States
LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER. So thrilled for my Sis and all those who will be touched by her stunning exhibition that just opened at MoMA in NYC curated by none other than Roxana Marcoci. Did we ever celebrate last night. Aggie Gund came decked. Dolores Huerta. My goodness. Here’s to this work that will last for the ages and represents the full force of the work of culture for justice in the United States
Looking forward to having Art of the Black World, a little show I am co-curating with Suzanne Blier, up at the Harvard Art Museum in Fall 2024!
The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America. I’ve been working on this book for over a decade! I’m so grateful for all that made it possible: kindness, love, compassion, rigor, and grace from so very many. Coming 9.17.24. Link in bio for pre-orders Cover image by @carriemaeweems Cover design and trailer by @pacific_pacific #UnseenTruth #WhenRaceChangedSight #VisionandJustice
