NWA JENOSID

Words by Carrie Stetler
Images by Jamel Shabazz, Adrian Franks, Nema Etebar, Akintola Hanif and Khalik Allah

NWA JENOSID, which means “Black genocide” in Hatian Creole, is the title of HYCIDE’s traveling exhibition, debuting in Miami during Art Basel this week. It features images by HYCIDE Editor-in-Chief Akintola Hanif and photographers Jamel Shabazz, Nema Etebar, Khalik Allah, and artist Adrian Franks.

“I see a rise in death and the systematic destruction of people of color around the world and in my backyard,’’ says Hanif, who curated the show, which examines the symptoms and effects of modern day genocide in the U.S. The show opens at Yeelen Gallery in Miami's Little Haiti district on December 6th at 10 p.m.

“I was looking for images that dealt with the literal and figurative death of a people. Sexual death, mental death, murder, self abuse, and other forms of violence and mutilation. A lot of the subjects in the photos appear to be the ones manifesting this genocide for themselves, but they're all actually the victims of something that was planned long before they arrived,’’ Hanif explains.

According to the United Nations, genocide is defined as acts committed with "intent to destroy" a group, "in whole or in part.'' While mass exterminations such as the Holocaust and the Turkish massacre of the Kurds are recognized by the U.N. and the public as acts of genocide, the same doesn’t apply to Blacks in America and many other people of the African Diaspora.

“The genocide in NWA JENOSID is part of a slow, agonizing and often camouflaged assault on Black and brown people around the world,’‘ says James Bartlett, Executive Director of MoCADA Museum, which is co-sponsoring the exhibit. “When considering these images on a deeper level, one ought not deny the fact that drugs, guns, inadequate healthcare, and other social ills were and are often strategically inflicted upon Black communities around the globe.”

Because in every genocide, the victimized group is dehumanized, NWA JENOSID confronts viewers with the subjects’ humanity and individuality.

“Each story is nuanced. Every story is unique. And, every single one of these lives matters,’’ says Bartlett. “As you look at these images, the hope is that you go beyond judgment and perhaps even identify with a common struggle; and that you find a place where you can recognize the sheer humanity in us all.’’

The exhibition is in conjunction with the FADE TO BLACK party at Yeelen Gallery Saturday at 10 p.m. and sponsored by Afro Punk and MoCADA.