This week’s Melissa Harris-Perry ”Foot Soldier” is Eunique Jones Gibson, a photographer, author and creator of the “Because of Them, We Can” campaign with a very personal connection to both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Just days before the 2008 election of President Obama, her first son, Chase, was born. Four years later, her second son, Amari, was born a few months before President Obama’s re-election. These moments prompted Gibson to re-imagine future possibilities for her children.
When you’re taking the pictures of the children do they understand why the person they’re portraying is special?It depends on the age. We’ve taken pictures of one-year-olds, but a number of kids come in to the studio with little print-outs of their icon because the parents have taken the opportunity to teach them about the individual. When the kids come in, I ask them, “Did you know what your person did or why they were special?” Some kids are definitely more into it than others.
For more on the campaign, watch this.
Lindsey Granger