Hooded

 

A 19-year-old photographer, disturbed by the difference between the google image results for “four white teens” and “four black teens,” created a portrait series and a video called Hooded.

From this story:

“Loftin’s images provide a competing example of black teenage boys wearing hoodies. In his colorful pictures, black boys wearing bright blue, yellow, pink, and orange hoodies, are seen engaged in playful scenes: hugging, smiling, making funny faces, and posing together in ways that evoke brotherhood and reveal an interiority that isn’t often seen in media betrayals. “The video and photographs show black boys who are happy, emotional, and positive rather than the traditional stereotype which paints black males in hoodies as being hardened, intimidating criminals,” explains the artist. “It’s important that black people, and people of color in general are accurately represented.””

Here is an interview with the artist, Myles Loftin.

Update: I am unable to link directly to this post on facebook because facebook has deemed it unsafe. I just … I mean … can someone teach an admin about irony?

Update again: facebook has gotten its act together and no longer classifies as unsafe photos of happy Black men that might make the men in question less likely to die of gun violence if the photos were widely viewed.