A photographer looks at young black menJail rather than college. Illegitimacy in place of fatherhood. Crack cocaine instead of medicine. The widespread negative images of young African-American men became increasingly troubling to Julian C.R. Okwu, a San Francisco-based freelance photographer who was born in London to Nigerian parents, and raised in Connecticut. What about the congressmen, the ballet dancers, the teachers and the lawyers? For the past year, Okwu has set about documenting the lives of young blacks who are pursuing their dreams with conviction and integrity. The project, titled "Critical Age," will be published in book form by Chronicle Books in 1997.
Khalek Kirkland, 23:
Khalek teaches 7th grade at JHS 113 in Brooklyn. He grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and graduated from Morehouse College. He is working towards an MA in Education and lives in Brooklyn.
"When I open my mouth, I am speaking for my parents, I'm speaking for the school, I'm speaking for the black race, I'm speaking for the black male. I take all that responsibility into the classroom everyday. I tell them, especially the younger brothers, the things that no one ever told me. I tell them that they need to go out in the world and meet other people and that every relationship they have is going to be a learning experience. I tell myself that as long as I'm getting through to one of them, it's worth the time.
Right now, even though it's class break, I am thinking about what my kids are doing. I pray for my children every morning. I pray to God to give me the guidance to teach them something new. I pray they will be okay over the weekend. It's worrying about my kids that gets me out of bed during rough mornings."
Next page: Demanding respect
