Photo project at Liberty Place in Kennett Square helps break down stereotypes – Daily Local

The market at Liberty Place became Kenneth’s favorite hangout. It provides a social setting for meetings and family and friends gatherings. It has a selection of food vendors to purchase delicious food or drinks and weekend entertainment. Along with this, Larry and Jeff Bosley, the owners of the establishment, created a space for art displays along the wall of the patio dining area. They are currently welcoming the “20Men Photo Project” through August and early September.

The story of this exhibit began with a question that was asked to Christine Marty Ochola, a resident of Chester County after the murder of George Floyd. “Do the people of color in Chester County feel unsafe and worried that what happened to George Floyd could happen to them?”

Christine, a pharmaceutical chemist with a history of teaching chemistry at major universities, grew up in the majority culture in Kenya. She admits that she had less experience of marginalization as a child, but the George Floyd event forced her to act.

Christine, along with a small group of mothers who were concerned about racial equality in the community, decided that the issue was worth exploring. In May 2020, they launched a grassroots effort that invited community members to a weekly virtual dialogue. The police chief helped name the group: the Race and Culture group.

They created a code of conduct for the dialogue sessions, which helped create a safe space for sharing experiences along with the expectation that all contributions would be respected. They distributed a wide invitation that included 47 police stations. They had 20 to 40 participants every week for over 18 months.

On their website, they describe themselves as an apolitical and diverse group of Chester County residents with a mission to advocate for racial and cultural justice that humanizes all Chester County residents through mutual respect, care and understanding.

They identify their work as one of engaging and developing advocacy opportunities to create an inclusive, sustainable community that embraces our diversity. “20 Men Photo Project” is one of their advocacy initiatives.

Christine, a resident of Coatesville for seventeen years, regularly drives the Rt 30 Bypass. In an interview, she stated, “I’ve been concerned about a billboard for years that the FBI posted pictures of the most wanted black criminals. Having two sons of my own, I often wondered if my self-image was implicitly affected.’

This became true when I didn’t understand why my oldest son didn’t want to get his driver’s license. At the same time, I learned about an “Out of Reach” pouch that can hold your driver’s license, registration and insurance card and clips onto the car’s air vent for easy access when stopped. When I told my son that I thought it might be helpful, he agreed that he was ready to get his driver’s license.

She continues, “Black men are often portrayed in a negative light in our community, and we’ve all heard the saying, ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words.’ She teamed up with the generous volunteer work of Sandrien de Bruijn Photography and the 20Men photo project was born.

“This project is designed to show men of color in their natural environment and really highlights the daily lives of black men in our community. The desired impact is to push back against the negative images of black men historically portrayed in the media and bring to the fore the humanity of fathers, sons, grandparents, nephews, brothers … and yes, neighbors in our community.”

This has been the case since the opening of this exhibition earlier this year. A student at Avon Grove Charter noted that she recognized the man as her uncle, or another noted that the man in the photo was her father’s barber, while another student identified her friend’s teacher. This is the impact that RACE hopes to have—to normalize a segment of our population that has been marginalized.

It would be worth your time to stop by The Market at Liberty Place and check out the photos. You can also check out the website at: https://www.racegrouppa.com/20-men-projects.html and if you like, attend a monthly virtual session that continues the dialogue with the presenters that started in 2020 with with a mission to promote the humanization of all residents of Chester County.

Kenneth’s book, The Kenneth Story – Shaping the Future One Child at a Time, by Joan Holliday and Bob George, is available on Amazon and at the Mushroom Cap or Resale Book Shoppe in Kennett. You can contact Joan Holliday at: dochollisv@aol.com

These virtual meetings began in May 2022 and have been held weekly for a year. Now they have switched to once a month.

equity is a racial justice advocacy group that promotes the humanization of all Chester County residents through mutual respect, care, and understanding.

What we do:
We engage in a dialogue that seeks to develop trust, empathy, and awareness of the negative impact of systemic racism.
​We support advocacy opportunities to build an inclusive, sustainable community and embrace our diversity.
We:
An apolitical and diverse group of Chester County residents.

Our mission:
Racial and Cultural Justice is a racial justice advocacy group that promotes the humanization of all Chester County residents through mutual respect, care, and understanding.

What we do:
We engage in a dialogue that seeks to develop trust, empathy, and awareness of the negative impact of systemic racism.
​We support advocacy opportunities to build an inclusive, sustainable community and embrace our diversity.
Photo by Sandrien de Braine