Photographer and filmmaker Karen Elliott Greisdorf  is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this social documentary photography.  From the project ‘To Walk A Mile’ To see Karen’s body of work click on any image.

 

Martha McCoy, Executive Director, and Carolyne Abdullah, Director of Strengthening Democratic Capacity Team, with Everyday Democracy in Hartford, CT.

 

Margaret Rohn & Rowena Jordan – Cincinnati, OH – Margaret and Rowena met as facilitators at the Cincinnati National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

 

Pastor Darryl Fairchild & Rev. Robert E. Jones – Dayton, OH – Photographed on the Third Street Bridge also known as the Peace Bridge for its connection of the historically divided east and west sides of the city.

 

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousands words. Today, it remains difficult for Americans to talk about issues of race and the divisions of our nation that make us far from united states.  I have conceived, captured and curated the ongoing To Walk A Mile series to convey the proof, hope and promise of community in the midst of some of the hardest things for us to talk about as Americans in the 21st century.  The power of this independent project (an excerpt of which is shared here) is seeing black and white Americans in partnership with each other in their communities and workplaces throughout the U.S.  These are relationships that cannot be legislated. They take work, sacrifice, courage, humility, and trust and the willingness to speak honestly while exploring a painful national history and its legacy of inequity.

 

Burt Holmes, a local entrepreneur/businessman and Reuben Gant, also an entrepreneur/businessman and former NFL athlete and college football star at OSU. They crossed paths on a number of community initiatives and are also personal friends. Photographed pre-construction at the John Hope Franklin Park in Tulsa, OK.

 

Christie Fowler and Frances Jordan, Greenwood Cultural Center Executive Director, helped integrate Tulsa Central High School in the mid/late 1960s and were close friends. After losing touch, they reconnected about 40 years later. They were photographed in front of their former high school.

 

Jim Walker and Peter Correia have both worked in the area of youth services and been professional colleagues and personal friends for years. Photographed at University of Oklahoma in Tulsa.

 

All images & text © Karen Elliott Greisdorf

 

 

See also:

HOPE IN THE CITIES

By Karen Elliott Greisdorf