Monthly Archives: January 2022
Is faded glory still glory?
Here’s another image from my spur-of-the-moment project to document the seedier side of the Graceland neighborhood. This empty shopping center is directly across the street from the mansion.
Memphis, Tennessee
photographed 12.28.2021
Ten minutes away
A pizza joint, two billboards, a threatening sky, and approaching darkness seem to be an apt metaphor for what happens to most people who come here seeking fame. Not to be too heavy-handed about it or anything…
Memphis, Tennessee
photographed 12.27.2021
Bethel, coming and going
Here’s a two-way sign for a little country church on top of a hill.
Also: it did require a u-turn to get back to it. And also: it took me about five miles of driving to decide that I didn’t want to pass up a chance to photograph the church (and sign). Sometimes I make a u-turn decision right away, and other times it takes a few minutes to decide. And also, one more time: I can’t recall a time that I’ve ever made a u-turn, gotten back to the place, and decided that it wasn’t worth a photograph after all.
near Savannah, Tennessee
photographed 12.26.2021
Swept Away
This was a nice sight: a broom, an industrial-size dustpan, and one footprint.
Lebanon, Tennessee
photographed 12.24.2021
I am a man
The National Civil Rights Museum is a hard place to visit. It’s uncomfortable to be confronted with the racist history of our country. It’s sickening to learn about how many things were denied – institutionally denied – to people of color. It’s embarrassing to have to admit that I’ve lived many, many years without thinking too deeply about what it means. It’s sobering to think about how far we’ve yet to go.
In 1969, the sanitation workers in Memphis were on strike; they carried the “I AM A MAN” signs on the picket lines. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made two trips to Memphis to support the strikers, and one the second trip he was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the same building that now houses the museum.
If you go to Memphis, please go to the museum: you’ll leave a different person than you were before.
National Civil Rights Museum
Memphis, Tennessee
photographed 12.27.2021
One Day | One Image 