A Visual Love Letter to the DMV
A Visual Love Letter to the DMV
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The DMV (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) area holds a unique cultural significance for its Black communities, rich with history, traditions, and a deep sense of belonging. From the sounds of GoGo music to the ritual of cracking blue crabs at a family gathering, these moments shape the identity of Black life in this region.
These scenes are not imagined—they're remembered. They're built from my lived experiences and the collective spirit of a place where legacy and culture are passed down in the smallest details.
The title “301 / 202 / 240” isn’t just about geography; it’s about identity. These area codes represent more than location; they’re home. They’re shorthand for a shared language and rhythm, specific to the Black experience in the DMV. This project is my visual love letter to that space, that energy, and the people who make it what it is.
Ultimately, this work is about honoring what’s familiar and making it visible, transforming the ordinary into something worth framing, remembering, and passing on.
This project is intentionally never finished. The Black narrative is expansive, layered, and constantly evolving, and the DMV is no exception. I aim to continuously document this area- its history, its resilience, its flavor, and its people. From DC brunch tables and catfish dinners to church mornings and front-yard conversations, I want to explore how everyday rituals build community and identity. I want to examine what it means to be a Black woman and how that has shaped me, alongside what it means to be a Black man, informed by the perspectives of the men in my family and the generations before them.
Through this work, I depict generations of everyday DMV people: their style, their confidence, their humor, and their survival. I want to expand the narrative by inviting more perspectives, painting a fuller and more honest picture of this region. The DMV is small, deeply connected, and rooted in shared experience, and that closeness is what makes it home.
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