Stranger Fruit by Jon Henry

Stranger Fruit was created in response to the senseless murders of black men across the nation by police violence. Black men are still the victims of unnecessary and excessive force. Even with smart phones and dash cams recording the actions, there is no justice to be found.

Who is next? Me? My brother? My cousin? My friends? How can we protect these men?

Lost in the furor of media coverage, lawsuits and protests is the plight of the mother. Who, regardless of the legal outcome, must carry on without her child.

I set out to photograph mothers with their sons in their environment, reenacting what it must feel like to endure this pain. The mother is also photographed in isolation, reflecting on the absence. When the trials are over, the protesters have gone home and the news cameras gone, it is the mother left. Left to mourn, to survive.

Do Black mothers matter?

 

 

Photographer: Jon Henry // www.jonhenryphotography.com