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Intergenerational Activism And Photography: Behind The Lens With Sheila Pree Bright

A conversation wtih photographer Sheila Pree Bright.Photographer Sheila Pree Bright first picked up a camera in search of a means of personal expression. After her first public exhibit, it was clear that not only did she have a gift for making beautiful images, but her work also sparked thoughtful and unexpected conversations about race, politics, and justice. Bright first came into the national spotlight with the series “Suburbia,” which explored black suburban life in Atlanta. Since then her series have continued to explore black spaces left out of the mainstream conversation.

Three recent projects explore past and present movements for social justice, connecting uncelebrated heroes from the 1960s to Black Lives Matter leaders working on the front lines today. Host Frank Stasio talks with Bright about her projects, including “Young Americans,” and “#1960Now.” A selection of Bright’s photos are on view at a pop-up exhibit at 1116 Broad Street in Durham through Friday, Oct. 28 as part of the Click! Triangle Photography Festival. ​ 

An image from Bright's series 'Young Americans,' a collection of potraits of Generation Y individuals posing with the American flag.
Sheila Pree Bright /
An image from Bright's series 'Young Americans,' a collection of potraits of Generation Y individuals posing with the American flag.
An image from Bright's series documenting the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Sheila Pree Bright /
An image from Bright's series documenting the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Copyright 2016 North Carolina Public Radio

Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.