Around The Way Dreams

She went by many names before LL Cool J’s eponymous song dropped in 1990, but her presence has been felt since the dawn of time.

Around The Way Dreams stems from my childhood admiration of Queen Latifah in Living Single and Big Les on BET’s Rap City. In my mind, these were Black women who exuded an indefinite cool. They were smart, approachable, hard-working, and, most importantly, the aura about them commanded respect because it was themselves they respected.

Using photography, this offering celebrates thirteen Black women who have manifested from the dreams of a little girl from not so long ago…or from last night. The next generation is surely coming, because, again, the Around the Way Girl has always been here.

She is someone you know. She is you.

Around The Way Dreams is the beginning of my immersive study on the layered effects of being an Around the Way Girl.

As part of Power Haus Creative’s Black Light Winter Activation, an open-air installation that celebrates hip-hop and Black resilience, Around the Way Dreams opened on January 12th, 2021 at the historic Flatiron Building in Atlanta, GA.

This is our resistance.