Photography and Artist's Statement by Andrew Chenault

From a very young age, I have always been aware of my mixed background heritage and have always taken great pride in being Chinese and Taiwanese from my mother’s side and African American, Native American Cherokee & Blackfoot, Puerto Rican, French, and Irish on my father’s side. I have loved growing up being surrounded by the different cultures that make up my family with it being nothing less than a blessing.

Being mixed and Black in the U.S. is a unique experience. On one side I have an acute awareness of the issues that POC face because they’re my people, my family, my friends. I partake in our culture, our slang, our music, I even learned to code-switch at a very young age. But I also have one thing unique to myself and others like me, light-skinned privilege. Taking after my mom I am lighter-skinned than my blood brother who takes after my dad. With it, I have always had a clear picture of how the world, and more specifically this country, treats Black People and other POC. I have always seen how much more mistreatment or prejudice my darker siblings and fellow POC have faced at the hands of those in power and privilege. This isn’t to say I’ve never been on the other side of an officer’s gun or had to face other race-related issues, but I cannot deny I benefit from looking what I call “racially ambiguous”.

With that being said I’ve always made it a priority for me to use this privilege to help bring up my fellow brothers and sisters around me and to educate those who remain ignorant of the race dynamics and history of systemic racism in this country. I do what I can to be constantly updated on what’s happening in this country and abroad, actively protesting, signing petitions, donating to causes and groups, writing and calling representatives, and volunteering. My mom made it very clear, the importance of being involved with and giving back to your community.

Being a photographer by trade I try to bring a unique experience to fellow POC I work with and try to empower them with vibrant visuals that not only show off their beauty, but their intelligence, culture, creativity, excellence, and their value as people. I want to be a safe space where POC can always come to with confidence and trust. We are more than just statistics, trauma, and stereotypes, we are people and we matter.