Question Bridge: Black Males in America

Question Bridge assembles a series of questions posed to black men, by and for other black men, along with the corresponding responses and portraits of the participants. The questions range from the comic to the sublimely philosophical: from “Am I the only one who has problems eating chicken, watermelon, and bananas in front of white people?” to “Why is it so difficult for black American men in this culture to be themselves, their essential selves, and remain who they truly are?” The answers tackle the issues that continue to surround black male identity today in a uniquely honest, no-holds-barred manner. While the ostensible subject is black men, the conversation that evolves in these pages is ultimately about the nature of living in a post-Obama, post-Ferguson, post–Voting Rights Act America. Question Bridge is about who we are and what we mean to one another. Most critically, it asks: how can we start to dismantle the myths and misconceptions that have evolved around race and gender in America―how can we reset the narrative about ourselves? The founding artists, along with contributions from Andrew Young, Jesse Williams, Rashid Shabazz, and Delroy Lindo, will introduce and contextualize the body of the work and provide closing remarks on our current and future social climate. The Question Bridge Project is an innovative, transmedia project that uses video to facilitate a conversation among black men from diverse backgrounds. Originally created by Chris Johnson in 1996, the project was revived by Hank Willis Thomas, Kamal Sinclair, and Bayeté Ross Smith in filming over 160 black men in nine American cities, each of whom asked and answered questions posed by other black men. This content was used to create a five-screen video installation that has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum; Oakland Museum of California; Birmingham Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; Milwaukee Art Museum; Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture, Charlotte, NC; San Diego African American Museum of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York; Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, Rochester, NY; and Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah. The Question Bridge Project includes various platforms, an interactive website and mobile app, as well as community roundtable conversations and a curriculum designed for high school learners.

Deborah Willis, PhD, is professor and chair of the department of photography and imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She has been a Richard D. Cohen Fellow of African and African American Art History at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University (2014), a Guggenheim Fellow (2005), a Fletcher Fellow (2005), and a MacArthur Fellow (2000). Willis received the NAACP Image Award in 2014 for her coauthored book Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery (2013). Her other notable publications include Black Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot” (2010), Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present (2009), the award-winning Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs (2009), The Black Female Body: A Photographic History (2002), and Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present (2002).

Natasha L. Logan is a multimedia arts producer and independent curator who has worked with a broad range of artists to create fine art, transmedia, and film projects. As a producer for Question Bridge, she led strategic planning, exhibition management, operations, and the creation of new interactive platforms. Prior to her production practice, Logan served as the assistant director of career development at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has curated independent exhibitions for artists in the United States and the United Kingdom. She graduated with a BA in English literature and African American studies from the University of Virginia.

Andrew Young was John Edwards's longest serving and most trusted aide. He raised more than $10 million for the politician's various causes and played a key role in Edwards's efforts to become president of the United States. As the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he helped propose the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1972, Young was elected to the United States Congress as a representative of Georgia. During his time in Congress, President Jimmy Carter selected him to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In 1981, Young was elected mayor of Atlanta and served for eight years. In 2003, he created the Andrew Young Foundation to support and promote education, health, leadership, and human rights in the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Jesse Williams is an actor, social-justice activist, and former teacher. He is a member of the board of directors at Advancement Project, a think tank and advocacy group, and founder of the production company farWord Inc. He has written extensively about a range of issues, including police terrorism, hunger, and predatory media practices for CNN and the Huffington Post, and has also addressed related matters as a guest on various MSNBC, NPR, and CNN programs. Williams entered the national spotlight as Dr. Jackson Avery in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. His feature credits include They Die By Dawn (2013), Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013), The Cabin in the Woods (2012), Brooklyn’s Finest (2009), and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008).

Chris Johnson is an Oakland-based artist and professor of photography at California College of the Arts. Previously he served as the president of SF Camerawork, director of the Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography, and chair of City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission. His book The Practical Zone System for Film and Digital Photography (1999) is currently in its fourth printing.