FLANEURISM - Friday Photo Walk / WDC 13 July 2007 Photo Montage

I did not know that the street photography that I have practiced since the fall of 1972 when as a senior at Great Mills high School in Southern Maryland that I would take weekend trips to Washington DC to visit the gay bars in SE and SW WDC and cruise the streets of Georgetown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons was a form of flaneurism.

In fact, I never heard of flaneurism until artist and urban planner Daniel Lobo informed me of that fact in March of this year.

Since 1972, I had always envisioned that, years later, my street photography would be intergrated with music and projected onto walls. Having integrated my writings with my photography since my Labor Day Weekend 1992 trip to Fire Island in October 1995, as a result of the Million Man March on Washington, I have developed an ongoing documentary project "Some Angry Black Men Might Would've Put A Gun In His Hands" that while journalizing about my experiences as a black male and reporting on the issues of the day I have also photographed the time in which I have lived.

Cognitive that when my phtography has been integrated with my writings the result will not only represent a powerful reflection and documentation of our times but will also shed light on my personal story.

Though it has been since February 2005 that I have created photo montage videos and in recent weeks several video footage projects this particular video project, FLANEURISM - Friday Photo Walk / WDC - 13 July 2007 is precisely what I have visualized since the fall of 1972.

Unfortunately, for me, a black male, it has been a life subjected to out right and blatant racism.

While my street photography has always been a form of flaneurism what sets my body of work against all others is the fact my photo walks, particularly since 1992, has been 'walks against racism'.

The above photo was taken on Friday evening, 13 July 2007 on 7th Street in Chinatown.

One of the reasons that, in recent years, I focus on Chinatown is because it reminds me of Georgetown in the 70's and early 80's. I sometimes refer to it as Georgetown East. And what is so pronouced to me ... a black male ... is the fact that I have less freedoms now and am disrespected more now on 7th Street in Chinatown than I was, as a black male, when my white friends and I cruised the streets of Georgetown in the 70's.

Click the above photo to view my 13 July 2007 Friday Photo Walk photoset. It is included in my FLANEURISM - Friday Photo Walk / WDC - 13 July 2007 photo montage.

The background music for the photo montage video is DJ Bryan Hughes mix "Burning Man 2006". I only include the music of those DJs whose work I regard as important reflections of our times.

This video will be played at bars, night clubs, lounges and art openings ... bringing attention to DJ Bryan Hughes and, of course, my ongoing FLANEURISM PROJECT.

Some angry black men might would've put in a gun in their hands!