Land of Blood Dirt

Land of Blood and Dirt series is feature in the exhibition 'Big Tent' at FotoFocus opening May 29 -August 22, 2026 in Cincinnati.

This series examines the long history of land dispossession and system discrimination against Black farmers in the United States from Reconstruction to the present. Following the 1862 Homestead Act millions of acres taken from Native Americans were redistributed to whites laying the foundation for generational wealth that largely excluded Black Americans.

Focusing on a Black family-owned urban farm, Atlanta Harvest in Ellenwood. This work highlights a new generation reclaiming land, building generational wealth and addressing food inequity. By expanding access to fresh nutritious food they are actively confronting "Food apartheid" and strengthening their community.

2026, Land of Blood and Dirt, Atlanta Harvest, Archival pigment print 45x30

"Big Tent is inspired in part by a poem by Amanda Gorman, “In This Place (An American Lyric),” written during her time as National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017. Following Gorman’s poem, the exhibition moves through various cities across the United States, where readers encounter book “collections burned and reborn twice,” Confederate statues and protestors “like a meadow of resistance,” the “sleeping giant of Lake Michigan,” cows and floodwaters, and “black and brown students,” culminating in a celebration of the diversity of the American populace." - FotoFocus