senegal
my brother and i
Photo Essay
After discovering that our ancestors were from somewhere in Senegal, my brother and I decided to fly across the same oceans that they were shipped across hundreds of years ago, with the intention to learn more, see more, and hopefully become more than just the descendants of slaves.
My brother had been to Senegal before. I remember getting an odd call one night; he was crying on the phone—not a cry of danger or distress, but an emotional, confessional sob. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I am standing in the Door of No Return." He was overcome with emotion and needed to talk, so we did.
When the chance came to go to Senegal with our friend Cherif, who is from Senegal, and our friend Aaron, whose ancestors were colonizers, I couldn't resist. It made for an interesting and often humorous dynamic—not a day went by without me joking about Aaron and his ancestors. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience.
These photos represent a time when I was liberated in a different way—through my identity. Many people call Black Americans the lost tribe, but leaving Senegal, I didn't feel lost. I knew exactly who I was: a Black American.
Being Black American represents so many beautiful and wonderful things: strength, perseverance, ingenuity, creativity, power, community, sharing, belief, joy, and so much more. My only ties to Africa, to Senegal, are ancestral. There's still a lot of unknown there, but the African in African American can sometimes overshadow the true ancestral history that has happened right here in America.
These photos capture our journey to bring the blood-drenched pages of our shallow family history together with the pages of our ancestors who never crossed the Atlantic. It is a journey of discovery, connection, and healing.
Adventure Awaits…
with love + imagination
-MR. TOMONOSHi!
For this essay I am arranging photos by colors.
the color
theory
red
My brother is one of my favorite subjects to photograph. One, he has great style, he’s always fashionable. Secondly, I don’t think anyone else in the world sees him the way that I do, not even him himself. It’s pretty cool to show him how I see him.
yellow
Senegal is a very colorful place, I myself do not wear a lot of color for numerous reasons, but I love how color pops on melanated skin, especially yellow.
Blue
The ocean in Senegal felt spiritual, maybe it’s the entity that holds the stories that connects my ancestors and me.
brown
Brown is a special color to me, it’s the foundation of my color theory. Give that a read if you’d like to learn more.
pink
Cherif’s mom had such a beautiful and kind spirit, you could see the many stories she’s seen in her eyes.
black
white
My brother started crying, again, when we visited the “Door of No Return'“, this time because we had returned, which many of our ancestors never got a chance to do.