ZEKE Magazine: Fall 2021, Interview with Joseph Rodriguez

A COMPELLING AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL
COMMENTARY BY KEITH FLYNN & CHARTER WEEKS
Both the Great Recession that began
in 2008 and the more recent global
pandemic provide the backdrop
for these remarkable portraits and
testimonies of the people who do
their best to survive with the odds
stacked against them.
- Glenn Ruga
Social Documentary Network
Featuring Photographs
by Charter Weeks and
Text by Keith Flynn
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Joseph Rodriguez
Continued from page 53.
CC: With regard to the ongoing conversation
about minorities and underrepresented
communities reclaiming ownership
of the narrative in the media, what do
you think is the value of having someone
from inside a community documenting
it, as opposed to someone from outside?
How do you see social media affecting
the process?
JR: I remember people used to tell me:
“You’re not gonna make any money
shooting Black and brown people.” That
was racist. I had to let it roll off my back
and say, “Okay, we’ll get there.”
When National Geographic published
“Growing up in East Harlem” in May
1990, it was a cover story, World Press
Photo-winning, all these awards, 26
pages. It was the proudest day of my life
when it was published: I was in Spanish
Harlem at the library with my magazine,
and these little chavelitos (young kids)
were reading it being like “Wow! This is
my neighborhood!”
Some time later, several of the editors
at the magazine told me they felt they
should not be doing stories about poverty
in America. And I said to myself: “Wait
a minute, you mean to tell me I can go to
Ethiopia and show bare breasted, starving
women and that’s okay?” After doing
another story in Africa I chose not to
work for them. All of a sudden, 10 years
ago they’re going back and looking at
many of their stories through a colonialist
lens, 'cause now it’s the 21st century
and everybody calls you up on social
networks.
Social media has given many people
a voice. I put a lot of my work there
because the younger generations don’t
read, they don’t go to libraries or look at
books. Social media is giving a platform
for many of us to see and read.
There’s one thing I want to make clear
though: just because I’m Latino, I’m a
photographer who happens to be Latino,
I’m not a Latino photographer. That’s not
how I label myself.
Ethnicity should not have to do with
what you represent — although that’s
shifted, and there’s a lot of Black folks out
there that are pushing the Black narrative,
a lot of Latinos pushing the Latino narrative,
a lot of women pushing the women
narrative, a lot of trans folks pushing the
trans narrative. Everybody’s out there trying
to do something, and that’s okay. But
it’s very easy to get pigeonholed like in my
case: “Hire Joe, he’ll shoot AIDS. He’ll do
drug addicts, dope fiends and gangsters.”
I don’t look at what color or gender
you are. I don’t care where you come
from, what your class status is. If you’re
putting the time in, if you’re willing to
listen, you can do good work. I don’t like
the way the conversations are going right
now where, “Oh, you’re white, you’re
not allowed to do this project,” or “You’re
Black, you’re not allowed to do that
project.” Photography has always been
universal, as far as I’m concerned.
4 / ZEKE FALL 2021