Read on Twitter
Racist language alert: "frenzied swarm" and then it just keeps going. "Me no know" ?? Really? Are you fucking kidding me? @natgeo remember your apology tour not long ago?
Fuck you, Steinmetz. https://twitter.com/chiragwakaskar/status/1339063480507392000
Fuck you, Steinmetz. https://twitter.com/chiragwakaskar/status/1339063480507392000
This photographer also works for @NYMag. He has 1 million followers on IG. He gets regular work. He gets flown into places & GOES MASKLESS, breaking the laws of the host country while local photographers are desperate for jobs. He uses language that is racist & insulting.
Photographer George Steinmetz is only part of the problem.He's a symptom of an industry that developed as colonialism expanded. It made its money off bodies of the colonized & abused. It made legends of photographers who were white & male--part of the system of power.
This photo industry sees no reason to change because it lacks the imagination to revolutionize its perceptions & kill its bigotries. It is blind to itself. It helped build the racism that destroyed generations. It profited & grew rich. It's too frightened to change on its own.
To dismantle the system means to work from the inside and tear it down. It means to offer new visions of what's possible & there are beautiful visionaries doing that right now. It means PHOTO EDITORS must hire local & ensure safety & dignity of those being photographed.
I thank @LAfrohemien @Africashowboy @AfricanPhotogs @AndileBuka @photowallah @mulugetaayene @Marthinolly @naderadem @yonas_tadesse_ @forfreedoms @BlkWomenPhoto and so many more for the visions of this world.
