St. Louis photographer on a mission to refocus stereotypes of Black men

Click here for updates on this story

    ST. LOUIS, MO (KCTV) — A photographer is hoping she can help change the narrative about Black men through her photographs.

Naisha Bailey-Johnson typically photographs newborns and families for her business, YoSnap Photo Booth and Photography in St. Louis. After seeing all the civil unrest, she decided to start the ‘Black Fatherhood Project’ to change the narrative about Black men.

“I had been scrolling on social media and all that I saw was negative images of Black men, particularly jail shots, mug shots,” said Bailey-Johnson. “I think there’s a thing that Black men are not affectionate. To see these men kiss their kids, hug their sons, kiss them on the forehead, that’s important for people to see so you can get a different perspective about our community.”

So far, she has photographed seven fathers with their children, charging only $8.46 to honor George Floyd.

Joshua Johnson and his five-year-old daughter, Kori, was one of her first photo shoots.

“We know there are tons of dads who are doing everything they need to do to take care of their kids, they have these amazing relationships,” said Johnson. “We want people to know dads and Black fathers are present in their children’s lives and they are willingly doing these things and enjoying them just as much as moms are.

Bailey-Johnson hopes to photograph a total of 20 fathers by July 13. Her dream is to eventually have a gallery for the public to view the photographs.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.