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Celebrating Black American history: Rahim Fortune's photography series Hardtack

Shot in striking black and white, Rahim Fortune’s photographs celebrate Black American history, traditions, pride and resilience. In this film he unpacks the stories behind his series, Hardtack.

Shot over nearly a decade, Hardtack documents rodeos, parades, pageants and everyday life in Texas and the American South.

We met Fortune in his home of New York City to find out what drew him to the subject and hear about some of the key images in the series.

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Fortune reveals how he was inspired by historic American documentary photographers Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Russell Lee, who, while working for the US government, captured southern life throughout the Great Depression and early 20th century.

Discover more of Rahim Fortune's photographs in our collection.

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