As a photojournalist/ documentary photographer, my objective is to answer visually, the question of “what happened?”. It is my belief, the documentary filmmaker has the cinematic liberties to illuminate some of the “why it happened” in great detail. This documentary, based on Dr. Lawrence T. Brown’s book, The Black Butterfly: the Harmful Politics of Race & Space in America, we explore Baltimore’s African American population as the “wings” of a butterfly, symbolizing struggle, resilience and beauty amid Baltimore’s (and other urban areas)systemic inequalities. The film sheds light on the historical and ongoing traumas shaping Baltimore’s identity, advocating for a deeper understanding of social and economic injustices. It is our hope to explore processes to ameliorate or eliminate some of the Intransigent structural problems facing the African-American urban communities.
Paul A. Greene, producer of JUST TO LIVE: The Black Butterfly.
