Wednesday, January 1, marks the day we celebrate the seventh and final principle of Kwanzaa: Imani.
Imani is the profound belief in and commitment to all that is of value to us as a family, community, people and culture.
One Brooklynite who embodies these values is local photographer Russell Frederick whose career goals and ambitions, even as they changed, always centered the wellbeing of those around him and portraying them in the best light possible. Frederick initially pursued nursing but later quit after learning that itwasn't as people centered as he'd hoped.
“I saw that healthcare wasn't about really the patient; it was a lot more about the business and the politics of it,” said Frederick. “I felt that I had a bigger calling than being of service as a nurse. And I also had a gut feeling that I was supposed to do something artistic.”
At 27, drawing inspiration from his neighbhorhood of Bed-Stuy, Frederick began documenting the daily lives of locals on the streets and in the subway with a clear goal in mind.
“I started to focus on Bed-Stuy, because I wanted to change the way the world saw my community,” said Frederick. “Walking the streets, what I saw was not what I had read about Bed-Stuy.”
After experiencing sudden vision loss in 2017, he said the diagnosis felt like a "death" although this did not deter him from living his dream. Faithful to his calling and love for his people, he evolved his art and started using digital cameras, filmed in more color, a change that required him to use more of himself than he had done before the diagnosis.
“I had to start using some other senses to kind of overcompensate for what I was losing in vision,” Frederick said. “The hardest part was just daily functions that I used take for granted, like reading the newspaper, opening up some mail, reading the back of a food label.”
Frederick exemplifies the principle of faith through his resilience and understanding that his mission to serve and uplift the community will continue, despite barriers that he face. He holds on to a belief that he will provided the tools to continue because his work is an essential part of a God-given gift.
BK Reader reported on Frederick earlier this year. Here is a link to that report.
Beginning on Sunday, December 26, and for the seven days of Kwanzaa, BK Reader featured a different local resident or organization that exemplifies one of the seven principles!
