exploit or observe

by Andrew

How many times have we seen those black and white photographs of people living in poverty: a young mother holding her baby reminiscent of the Madonna and child. Beginning with the work of Dorthea Lang and Walker Evans and their work for the WPA, these types of images have become a uniquely American genre. Like Mafia flics, though not in the for front of our consciousness, they are eminently recognizable. In looking at these arresting images I must ask myself am I really entering into the experiences of the subjects? Or, am I insulating myself further by turning the plight of others into art? I don't know the answer to these question but I know it's important to still ask them every time I see poverty on the page or in person.

On this trip we have been witnesses to poverty in that we have pulled up in our mini caravan to the disheveled homes of Columbia Mississippi residents, and in that we have spoken with people waiting on line for a bed for the night in downtown Nashville. Yes we are seeing poverty with our own eyes, but is that bearing witness? Is documenting the lives of the poor enough? Is the discomfort we feel as privileged people enough? No. This trip will only be effective if we take what we have seen and truly bear witness according to our faith when we return to New York. Many years ago I stumbled upon a book, a collaboration of the photographer Harvey Wang and the writer David Isay about the flophouses on New York's Bowery. It was after reading this book that I knew that I would one day work with the homeless, and I have since coming to Union. This book inspired me to activism. But during this time in the Delta I must ask myself am I really doing enough to bear witness? For whose glory do I do this work? Am I bearing a witness or simply going through motion, ignoring my discomfort, sublimating my emotions, and closing off my heart? I hope that what I will take from this trip is that I can only bear witness by taking action and making personal sacrifices.