Come to Brooklyn and get you an #AfroPunkBae
As seen on Fabulize Magazine:
Damn, do you need an #AfropunkBae? There aren't many fests I can think of off-hand that allows me to blush and bask in the glory of such natural beauty of black men and women simultaneously. Afropunk is a lot of things, but I am never disappointed in the multitude of gorgeous black and brown men and women I get to see and appreciate each year. This year, I decided to do something a bit different. I wanted to take more photos of men this year as opposed to taking photos of mostly women. I made this my mision because believe it or not, men are more camera shy than women. Women are usually prepared to take photos, but with men, they tend to be taken aback when asked to take a photo.
It was interesting to see men reactions when I stopped them for a photo. I couldn't believe how many men were shy about having their photo taken. Perhaps it's the shock of someone asking them or maybe they can't fathom why I would want to take their photo in the first place. Most festivals are full of beautiful women and Afropunk is not different, but I wanted to capture black men that may or may not get appreciated. It's important to display black men being carefree and happy. It's therapeutic and even soothing to watch black men, of all ages, nationalities and sexual orientations be at peace and genuinely smile. We need to see black men being happy and I captured that at Afropunk.
It didn't matter if they were dancing, listening to music or on their phones - I wanted to capture the glimpse of carefree blackness. For a few hours, thousands of black men from all over attended Afropunk to show off their style and to have fun. This to me, is the true spirit of Afropunk; Blackness celebrated without boundaries or judgement. Unfortunately, like most things in Brooklyn, our traditions and communities are changing to fit the gentrified agenda but beautiful melanin will always win.
If you know any of these men, tell them I said they are beautiful.
All image credit goes to Erika Hardison and Fabulize Magazine.
