Breonna Taylor, innocent of any wrongdoing or suspicion thereof, was killed in her bed by plain-clothed police officers, who broke into her apartment in the early hours of the morning on March 13, 2020. As of today, this killing, this one of innumerable crimes against Black Americans over the centuries, has not been balanced in the scales of blind justice — if only the loss of any person’s life on this earth could be balanced in such a way. She was a young woman doing good in this world. In Breonna’s name, I begin this project.

The faces in this series document some of the voices of Black Americans I have heard and read. I have no illusions that I could make a comprehensive record of salient and eloquent statements about injustice told by Black Americans. Their experiences and statements are innumerable, and not all are recorded. I only want to do my best to give the deepest kind of listening to their words that have reached me. As of today, I have made ten of these small portraits. I observe that so far I have chosen voices mostly contemporary to the current presidency, which ends tomorrow. Mostly these are voices I have heard on the television or other time-based media. These people describe personal wounds, even if their statements are expressed in an official capacity. I am also struck by their countervailing expression of strength, faith, patriotism, and compassion for others.

I believe that by listening with an open mind and heart and without defending myself, I, who am white, can make meaningful my own statement that each Black life matters.

Emily Faxon
January 19, 2021