Abandoned - Part 2
Jim Crow Laws
Redlining
White Flight
Food Deserts
These are all terms and phrases I’d never heard before, until I moved to Memphis, Tennessee in December 2018. I’ve heard them infinitely more these past few weeks as the national conversation has turned from COVID to Black Lives Matter (BLM), which has also led me to procrastinate on writing this post. All of a sudden, there is more of a spotlight on what one (ie white folk) has to say about BLM – or more importantly, what one doesn’t say, and instead listens and learns, as this New York Times article writes, and many others I’ve read:
‘As a new generation steps up, activists and historians believe there’s important work to be done for white people: Listening to black voices and following rather than trying to lead, for one, and undertaking the deep introspection required to confront unconscious bias and the perks of privilege that come just from being white.’
and ‘Educate yourself before you engage.’
Who am I - a white Australian who has only lived in the US for 18 months - to write about such topics that I know so little about, and what do these issues have to do with photographs of abandoned buildings anyway? This question has been playing on my mind, and I’ve been wondering, should I still write this post? Well, I guess the answer is yes. As an observer in the US, with no political party allegiance, there are many conditions and issues that have made a clear impression on me, which may not be as apparent if I’d lived here my whole life. In this photo story, I will try to explain the deep rooted impact of the inequities listed above and the role they played in the blight of abandonment we see in Memphis and throughout the US today.
Whitewashed Florida
With ‘Shelter at Home’ restrictions slowly easing here in the US, my family and I were fortunate to be able to travel to Florida for a week’s holiday at the beach. We’d heard that the 30A Scenic Highway on the ‘Panhandle of Florida’ (the North Western part of the State in Walton County) had beautiful white sandy beaches and turquoise water of the Gulf of Mexico; and it was also one of the closer beaches to Memphis (about 488 miles, or 785 kilometres). Perfect! We booked in a last minute trip and discovered that it was all of those things and more, and it was a wonderful family holiday for us that dearly missed the ocean.
But….
With the recent death of George Floyd, and the subsequent protests around the US (and the world) while we were there, my mind was often far from white sandy beaches. What I found myself thinking about, besides how beautiful the area was, was also how white it was, in every sense of the word. It was a world away from the protests and there was minimal evidence of COVID concern. It often felt like the town in the movie ‘Pleasantsville’. We only ended up booking this holiday because our trip to Australia was cancelled due to COVID, and we weren’t sure if a beach holiday was enough of an ‘American experience’ - coming from coastal Australia, we basically grew up at the beach. But in light of recent events, it became quite educational, and very much an American experience.
In this photo story, I take you on a journey of this stunning location, and offer a little history relevant to the current times.
Abandoned - Part 1
One thing that has intrigued me since arriving in the US to live, is the vast amount of abandoned buildings I’ve seen. I first noticed them in downtown Memphis, but then I’ve also observed them throughout parts of the US when we’ve travelled. In some areas, they dominate the landscape and emanate the feel of a modern day ghost town. It’s compelled me to ponder many questions – why are there so many in one of the richest nations in the world, are some areas harder hit than others, what is the story behind their abandonment, and who are the people behind the stories? It’s also raised other questions in my mind – what else becomes abandoned, and why – not just buildings, but whole towns, cultures, ideologies, and most importantly, ourselves? I’ll be delving into these questions in this 5 part series, and in this first photo story, I explore where the intrigue came for me in the first place, the generational farm I grew up on, and the Irish and Indigenous peoples forced to abandon their lands.
The Gift of Great Teachers
We’ve just had ‘Teacher Appreciation Week’ here in the US, and I’ve never appreciated teachers as much as I do now! And I think this is echoed around the world. The abrupt move from teaching classroom style to home learning for three quarters of the world’s population is simply hard to fathom. What an enormous feat these teachers have achieved. Today, Mother’s Day, I reflect on the wonderful teaching gifts I’ve received throughout my life, and share with you some of those gifts that have helped shape who I am, particularly during the challenging years of motherhood when I was a bit ‘lost in the woods’. From books, to health professionals, to healers and beyond, I hope these may be of service to someone else. For “every woman that heals herself helps heal all the other women who came before her, and all those that came after her”.
Nationalism and Nostalgia
Nationalism and nostalgia - two themes that have pervaded my psyche over the last couple of weeks. In today’s writing and photo story, I observe some recent US events and report who COVID-19 is affecting the most here. I ponder the influence of the media on us all. I explore my son’s American History school work. I take a trip down memory lane, and I showcase some of my photography that shouts ‘America’. It’s an observational exploration of this great and diverse country from a newcomers perspective.
Treasure Hunts, Jigsaw Puzzles and Things That Make Me Smile
his has been a hard one to write this week. I started off deciding that it was going to be a really positive post about things that have made me smile lately, accompanied with fun, colourful photos I have taken. Whilst it is still this, I’ve also ended up talking about my parents separating when I was 13, that wasn’t the plan! …………... But, as it just seemed to want to flow out of me from some other place, I realised that there are many positives to come out of the adversity that we go through, and I understood what this post was really about. I’ve struggled to express myself succinctly this week, but I still hope you enjoy this latest installment. If I can make one person smile from my creative expression, then I think it’s worth putting it out there.
Treasure Hunts and Jigsaw Puzzles, two things we’ve been doing this week. But perhaps also a metaphor for life….
Pandemic Emotions
It’s a very emotional time; and I think we’re all just trying to process how we feel, and get through day by day, or feed by feed as I used to say when I was a breastfeeding mother. Personally I’ve had a bit of a stumble this week, and at the first hurdle! The reality of having six people in the house at all times, four of whom are home schooling, hit home. Couple that with distance from family, restrictive movements, and of course the fact that this virus is pretty damn scary, and some strong emotions surfaced.
Memphis Ghostown, but ‘The King’ is not dead!
Some thoughts on why we’re staying put, some relevant music and spiritual advice, and a tour of Memphis iconic sites in this environment.
COVID19 - A U.S. Perspective
When you make the decision to move to another country with your family, ‘Pandemic’ is not something that we added to the list of considerations! But here we are, along with everyone else, trying to sort through the truths, the fear, the panic, and the meaning behind it all... Some observations from an Australian family living in the US, and what we can learn from our Grandparents era.
Exposing My Fears - Photography Workshop
In early February, I attended a 4-day documentary photography workshop, Project LA. It was organised by ‘Momenta Workshops’ whose motto is ‘Documentary photography for social good’’. It was one of the many highlights of my time in the US to date.