I'm a photographer who is bombarded with images and narratives that tend to overwhelmingly represent people of color in a "certain" way; and it's usually not a positive portrayal. Inspired by the great Gordon Parks, I decided to use my camera--and my still developing writing skills--as weapons for change.

People of color are an amazing, nuanced, and diverse group of people and I intend to use this site to showcase just a piece of their vast brilliance.

I also want to provide a counter-narrative to the idea of a "universal beauty standard." Too often we are made to feel inadequate because we don't perfectly match suffocating beauty standards. So I want to highlight the multiple ways people are beautiful, as well as some of the wonderful things they're working on.

I made this site to stay sane in an insane world where human beings tell other human beings that they're not beautiful. And where you're often considered "less than" if your skin happens to be of a darker hue.

“I got tired of seeing people of color often portrayed in a negative light. I got tired of seeing the same faces, doing the same things, wearing the same clothes. I got tired of society telling me what is—and isn’t—beautiful. I wanted to share with others the beauty I see in all of us.

I got tired...so I did something.”

Learn more about Gordon Parks by visiting The Gordon Parks Foundation. You can view some of Gordon Parks' work and exclusive articles, as well as upcoming exhibitions over at Artsy's Gordon Parks page.