Floyd Hall speaks with Carlton Mackey, photographer and assistant director of the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership and director of the Ethics & the Arts Program for the Emory University Center for Ethics. He is the creator of 50 Shades of Black, an ongoing photography campaign that began as a Tumblr page in 2012. Visitors to the site are invited to submit their own stories about how race, sexuality, and identity.
From the 50 Shades of Black website:
“50 Shades of Black is committed to exploring the complex relationship between race, skin tone, sexuality, and the formation of self-identity. Through collaborations with visual artists, scholars and the general public, this project hopes to offer a deeper understanding of what diversity means. It is in the recognition of this diversity that 50 Shades of Black acknowledges the historical role that race and skin tone have played in shaping the way we engage the world, how we perceive beauty, and our own self-worth.”