Alexis Diggs Reviews Joshua Rashaad McFadden

In his senior year at Elizabeth City State University, Joshua Rashaad McFadden created a portraiture series which dealt with the issue of colorism within the black culture. He defined colrism as the inherent beliefe that one skin tone is better or worse than another within the same race. In his series, McFadden photographed a group of black women of different tones in their natural state.

 McFadden recalls a former female classmate of his becoming emotional when she saw one of his final prints for the series entitled, COLORism. She explained to him that she felt connected to his images like she never had before. For McFadden this was a turning point. This instance made him realize his place in the world and that photography was his direction.

"The photograph can change perceptions of people." -Joshua Rashaad McFadden