CHILLUNS’ CROON


                                                Chilluns’ Croon investigates themes of the past such as absence, remembrance, 
                                                spirituality, and mortality of formerly enslaved people of Wilson County, North 
                                                Carolina. An intimate portrait of an African American community, Chilluns’ 
                                                Croon hums songs of hope, equality, and change for new generations.

                                                After conducting a deep research of the Wilson County area and establishing a 
                                                relationship with Lisa Y. Henderson, curator of the archive Black Wide-Awake; 
                                                documents of genealogical and historical interest to researchers of Wilson 
                                                County’s historical African American community, both photographer and 
                                                historian worked on a selection of files to serve as inspiration for the imagery 
                                                essay. 

                                                Curated by Lisa Y. Henderson, the archive Black Wide-Awake includes a range 
                                                of files, from photographs, family diaries, and plantation records to newspaper 
                                                clippings of obituaries, town crimes, and social events, among others. The
                                                archive files date from the mid-1700s, times of slavery in the 1800s,
                                                segregation era in the 1900s, and documents of new local activists seeking to 
                                                restore and preserve their African American legacy. 

                                                Chilluns’ Croon incorporates old transcripts from the Federal Writers Project 
                                                (FWP) featuring interviews with formerly enslaved African Americans. Together, 
                                                the compilation of documents reveals old spiritual beliefs and stories of love and 
                                                loss from the time of slavery and segregation in the United States. 



                                                Prints with OD Gallery

                                                Press: Palm Studios, GUP, MPB, PHMuseum, Nowhere Diary, Conceptual
                                               Projects, Float Magazine, Yogurt Magazine, WÜL Magazine, Booooooom
                                               Magazine


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