Last summer, before the start of his senior year at the University of Texas at Austin, Adraint Bereal set out to chronicle the lives and experiences of Black students at his predominantly white college. (Black students comprised 4.9 percent, or roughly 2,500 of U.T. Austin’s 51,832 students, in fall 2019.)
His photo project, The Black Yearbook, was meant to be complete before graduation, but second semester presented several unexpected variables. First, there was a pandemic that disrupted higher education and took a disproportionate toll on Black communities.
“The pandemic forced me to sit with the work longer,” Mr. Bereal, 22, said. Then there was the killing of George Floyd, which brought protests to Austin and many other cities around the world. All of a sudden, his project, which explores the persistence of anti-Black racism but also showcases Black joy and resilience, felt urgent.
Recent Comments