Susannah Shepherd-- First Artist Post

J.M. GIORDANO

“People who live here do not want to inflame a stereotype of the city made popular by shows like The Wire. Lots of peaceful people here. But you can’t kill a man and then show up in riot gear and not expect a pushback.'"

J.M. Giordano is an African American photojournalist from Baltimore currently employed by The Baltimore City Paper. Giordano’s mission as photojournalist is to provide the public with informed and unbiased photographic documentation of events, recently concerning himself with the death of twenty-five-year-old Freddie Gray, killed while in the custody of Baltimore police, and the riots that occurred as a result. Praise for Giordano’s work rests significantly in the photographer’s instinctively fearless habit of capturing truth by inserting himself fully into the action despite the dangers, (in the process of making this particular series, Giordano, like many others, fell victim to police brutality regardless of his non-violent stance.)

Giordano’s photography interests me for several reasons. The issue of institutional racism continues to exist at large in the United States, but as a white female with both a genuine desire to participate in the eradication of social injustices, collaborated with an understanding of white privilege and how the term applies to me, I think often about what my individual role should be and how I might negotiate a balance between my own identity, racism that does not directly effect me but infuriates me nonetheless, and a way to respectfully contribute to a viable solution to the problem, without pulling, for instance, a Howard Schultz, whose arguably good-intentioned attempts to tackle racism in America revealed itself to be ignorance thinly veiled as altruism.

Giordano’s photographs from the riots are reputable not only because of his gender and race but also because of his lifelong Baltimore roots and his undeniable love for his community, all factors fueling his passion for social activism, not only on an individual level but more importantly, his prioritization of his community over self. I am convinced that by virtue of my identity, at this point in time, listening to the voices of those directly subjected to racism in America is the only role I can take on in hopes to effectively contribute to progressive discourse.

Giordano comments on this directly when asked, “What role did the media in general play in these protests? Do you feel that the coverage was helpful or detrimental? What could they have done differently, if anything?” Giordano responds to the issue of out-of-towners and the media’s problematic presence, responding, “The nationals blew up some white dude throwing a bottle at cops as ‘mayhem in the protest.’ Total non sequitur. Look at the videos of people yelling at CNN, Fox, etc. to get the fuck out. That’s your real answer’”. As an artist, Giordano’s photographs are successful because of his irrefutable authenticity—his successful documentation of the riots spur from genuine authority as Baltimore native and black male. To me personally, the project is, among other things, a blaring reminder to not mistake empathy with sympathy.