The exhibit will present the haunting photography of RaMell Ross's Black Belt Project. Once known for the black, rich soil that made it the wealthy cotton farming capital of the Southeast, the Black Belt in Alabama now contains some of the poorest counties in the United States. Common township characteristics include high rates of poverty, unemployment, and low-achieving schools. Yet organizations such as YouthBuild USA, a national youth and community development program, are refusing to accept these statistics and are working tirelessly to cultivate the incredible wealth of possibility and hope that exists in the people of these forgotten places. Drawn from three series of photographs, Refuge will provide a visual account of the YouthBuild initiatives in the Black Belt community of Greensboro, Alabama.
New York City, NY; NYC