1993
Dana Lixenberg
2015
Roma Publications
Dana Lixenberg
Imperial Courts
1993—2015
Spider, 1993 (†1997) 5
Miyong with her son Anthony, 1993 6
DJ, 1993 7
Dusty with his dog Too Short, 1993 8
Ramona, 1993 9
Sharon, 1993 11
Lil Jeff, 1993 12
Antloc and Mastermind, 1993 13
Tyrone with his son De’Anthony, 2013, Toussaint’s son and grandson 14
Toussaint, 1993 15
Toussaint, 2008 16
Untitled, 2010 17
Trouble, 2009 19
Freeway, 1993 20
21
Marylee, 2010, Jeff’s daughter 22
Jeff, 1993 23
J Bo and friends, 1993 24
Jeff, 2013 25
J 50, 1993 27
J 50, 2008 28
Kadejah, 2013, J 50’s daughter 29
Dean and friend, 1993 30
J 50, 2013 31
Nae Nae, Nu Nu and Camelia, 2009 33
Bouk’s Memorial, 2013 34
Chin with his daughter Dee Dee, 1993 35
Tish’s Baby Shower, 2008 36
Dee Dee with her son Emir, 2013 37
Gloria, 1993 38
Brittany, 2009 39
Goldie, John and Tish, 1993 41
Big Rick, 1993 42
Rubi and Paula, 2009 43
China, 1993 (†2009) 44
Tye, 2008, China’s daughter 45
Untitled, 2012 46
Untitled, 2013 47
Sa’Marra, 2012, Selena’s daughter 48
Selena, 1993 49
Untitled, 2012 50
Infant Wedo, 2012 51
Shamilia and Quintina, 1993 52
53
Boo Boo with his son Lil Boo Boo, 2009 55
Maureen, 1993 56
Janiah, 2012 57
Mimi, 2008 59
Snoop, 1993 60
Dedrick, 2009 61
Nu Nu, 2009 63
Untitled, 2010 64
65
Fresh, 2008 66
Bryan, 2015 67
Nathalie with her daughter Bellahin, 2009 68
Lavell, 2008 69
Tania, Shanaboo with her son Lavell, and Sharon, 1993 70
Nicole, 2015 71
Writing Session (Floss, Lil Freak, Drawz and Chad), 2013 72
Untitled, 2009 73
Sierra, 2013 75
Mayra, Gladis and Jazmin, 2009 76
Jazmin, 2015 77
Big Shaan, 1993 79
Moothie, 2009 (†2010) 80
Chris, 2014 81
Untitled, 2013 82
83
Te’yanah, 2013, Tony’s daughter 84
Tony, 1993 (†2006) 85
Sista, 2009, Tony’s mother 86
Tony’s Memorial, 2010 87
Deshawn, 2012, Tony’s brother 89
Tanya K, 1993, pregnant with Buddy 90
Buddy, 2009 91
Fresh, Real, Flave and 4Doe (Real Fresh Crew), 2008 92
Gloria and YG, 1993 93
Dominos, 1993 94
Sunny Girl, 2012 95
Untitled, 2015 96
Sunny Girl, 2015 97
Coco, 1993 99
Untitled, 2013 100
Sherry Berry, 1993 101
Elizabeth, 2009 102
YG, 2012 103
Basimah and Keithayonna, 2008 104
Carvy, 2009 105
Candis, Tinae, Jasmine and Mitika, 2009 106
D-Ray, Cal, Reggie and XZavien, 2009 107
Laquita, 1993 108
Latonya, 2009 109
Leslie and Ashley, 2013 111
Untitled, 2013 112
Man Man, 2013 113
Chastity, 2013 114
Elaine, 1993 115
Elaine, 2012 117
Untitled, 2010 118
Brian, 2015 119
Vernell, 1993 120
Vernell, 2009 121
Untitled, 2008 122
Darion, 2012 123
Solé, 2013 125
Fisher, 1993 126
127
Deidre, 1993 128
Loppey, Poppey and Lil Drawz, 2012 129
Carlos and Bam, 1993 130
Loppey, 2014 131
Untitled, 2010 132
Quinny and Yahonna, 2009 133
Untitled, 2015 134
135
Monti, 2015, Annie’s daughter 136
Annie, 1993 137
Untitled, 2015 138
Jay Jay, 2008 (†2011) 139
Wilteysha, 1993 141
Wilteysha, 2013 142
Reggie, 2009 143
Jennifer, 2008 144
Marveon, 2015 145
Fu Fu, 2008 146
Peanut, 1993 147
China, 1993 (†2009) 148
Keisha, 2010, China’s daughter 149
Felia, Diamond and Sheena, 2015 150
Leah and Diamond, 2008 151
Untitled, 2010 152
153
Da Da, J50 and YG, 2013 154
Shawna, 2010 155
Chris, 1993 157
TB, 1993 (†1994) 158
Relonda and Kenny with Relonda’s daughter Antwanette, 1993 159
Untitled (birthday party), 2009 160
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 161
Floss, 2012 163
Shawna with her son Kashmir, 2013 164
Shawna with her son Kashmir, 2015 165
Maedis, 2013, Kashmir’s great-grandmother 167
“So Much Life Here”: 1 Portraits at Imperial Courts Carla Williams, 1998 Exhibition catalog essay, Portraits at Imperial Courts and Eight Women in Jeffersonville, Indiana, (Photographs by Dana Lixenberg), knowtribe and the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, May 15–June 15, 1999
“Watts doesn’t immediately look like a slum, if you come from New York: but it does if you drive from Beverly Hills. Over it hangs a miasma of fury and frustration, a perceptible darkening, as of storm clouds, of rage and despair, and the girls move with a ruthless, defiant dignity, and the boys move against the traffic as though they are moving against the enemy. The enemy is not there, of course, but his soldiers are, in patrol cars.” 2 I came into this world on the front seat of a ’65 Buick station wagon. My mother’s fourth child and ninth pregnancy, I was just about due and my mother, needing a break from my three older sisters, was checking into St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood at the last minute to rest her nerves for a few days. En route driving down Imperial Highway in Watts, she went into labor, raising herself onto her hands as I slid silently, without crying, onto the seat of my parents’ new car. “Drive faster, Wendell—she’s coming out,” my mother pleaded with my father. He obliged, and suddenly he had company—a police cruiser pulled up alongside their now-speeding car, and the officer began signaling for my father to roll down the window. “She’s out, Wendell—don’t roll down the window. She’ll catch cold,” my frightened mother implored, frantically worried that I, too, was a stillborn birth. She had already had four. She knew that the police car was alongside them, and figured that they were escorting us safely to the hospital. After all, it was one o’clock in the morning. We arrived at the hospital, where the chief of police himself awaited my “fugitive” father; I was labeled “unclean” and placed in the room with my mother rather than in the infirmary with the infants that had been born at the hospital. It was only later that my mother found out that the police had not escorted them at all—they had held a shotgun trained on my father the whole time. I was born less than two months after the Watts riots burned through South Los Angeles in August 1965. The police remained on alert, instantly wary of a black man speeding through the night in a brand new car, willfully disregarding their commands to halt. At the time, my family lived near the corner of Santa Barbara (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.) and Normandie avenues and my grandparents lived a few houses off Broadway on 51st Street—we didn’t even know anyone who, technically, lived in Watts, but from that instance forward, anywhere black folks lived in Los Angeles became identified with Watts. Bustling, convenient thoroughfares were reduced overnight into pockmarked battlefields where retailers and white folks forever after feared to tread. The neighborhood and their way of life, especially for my homemaker, non-driving grandmother, were permanently altered. Her vivid recollections of holiday decorations up and down Broadway and clean, easy streetcars seemed quaint against the vivid reality of boarded-up shop windows, high prices, and more difficult access to goods and services. In 1992, my grandmother was still living on 51st Street, and I with her, when the first verdict in the Rodney King police brutality trial was handed down. I drove home after dark that early evening, marveling at the number of people who were out and about on the street, unusual for our neighborhood. When I
169
approached home and saw my sister and our nextdoor neighbor standing on our porch talking, I knew something wasn’t right. Within a couple of hours, as the corner furniture store was just beginning to smolder and the television news warned that no emergency services were responding to our area, we hustled our reluctant grandmother from her fifty-year home, I grabbed family photos and my negatives, and we hopped on the 110 freeway just before the police closed all the on- and off-ramps (presumably to prevent the rioters from spreading outside of their own neighborhoods too quickly) and we headed for the suburban safety of my parent’s home thirty miles to the east. For the next couple of days, I lay numb on the sofa, watching the familiar landmarks of my childhood one by one go up in flames. I watched the news as neighborhoods in Hollywood and further west that were nowhere near South Central got labeled as such as they, too, ignited with fury and frustration. I worried about our home left hastily behind, but I felt no anger towards the arsonists, looters, and rioters, most of whom I could see weren’t black, despite what reporters were saying. I knew that so much disenfranchisement and poverty and anger and powerlessness was inevitably bound to boil over, spilling its red-hot rage into the streets like so much unleashed passion and fear. Many of the residents at the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts, fearful of their lives and possessions like everyone else, locked their doors and went inside while pockets of the city burned that spring of 1992. Not everyone was on the evening news running down the street pushing a shopping cart overflowing with televisions or tossing a Molotov cocktail to bring “the man” and his establishments to their knees; common sense and a healthy cynicism about media representation suggested otherwise. In time, national and civic leaders rallied, hired an ex-baseball commissioner to help “rebuild L.A.” and made all sorts of promises of jobs, renewal, and change. And then, just like in 1965, nothing happened, and thereafter the majority of residents who had relied upon the convenience of the corner market and the gas station just down the street, and who had once again pinned their dwindling hopes on the promise of an accessible, stable source of income, had to pay a little more now to get a lot less. The grandly-, ironically-named Imperial Courts at 116th Street and Imperial Highway are the secondlargest of the twenty-one federal housing projects in the city of Los Angeles built between 1941 and 1962.3 Despite what I thought was the reasonably entertaining story of my birth that somehow linked me in a special way to my “’hood”—one I trotted out to entertain friends on many occasions—I had never been to any of the projects and had never entertained the thought of going; South Central where I lived was “real” enough. It is ironic that Amsterdam-born Dana Lixenberg would be criticized for being a white woman photographing poor black people in the projects, 4 because most of the black people I know, many of whom grew up in South Central, voiced a variation on: “Oh, uh uh, the projects? I wouldn’t be going over there,” when I said I was writing about portraits of people who lived at Imperial Courts. It is
170
an all-too-often-expressed, seldom-acknowledged sentiment among many middle-class blacks toward their own people, and though I understand where it comes from, it still rankles, makes me feel slightly ashamed that I do know what they mean. The men, women, and children who live at the Imperial Courts, save for those few who have moved away or died in the interim, are exactly where they were in 1993 when Dana Lixenberg first photographed them just prior to the outcome of the second trial of the accused officers in the King case. Their lives, at times, seemed like an inner-city recasting of Waiting For Godot, an existential exercise in numbing futility, of waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. The same table of men playing bid whist or dominos on broken chairs, drinking 40s and talking shit; the same bored, restless, and denied adolescents riding miniature bikes, dodging bullets, and learning life’s lessons from the gang members who are their parents and role models; the same strong, tired women trying to hold it together even though together doesn’t look all that together, either. In early 1993, on a grant from the Dutch government, Lixenberg spent a month going daily to Imperial Courts to observe and photograph the residents there. Initially, they were leery of her presence and intentions, and with good reason. Beginning with the controversial police shooting in November 1991 of twenty-eight-year-old Henry Peco during a blackout at Imperial Courts, the residents had been inundated with news media and politicians. About two weeks before the first verdicts, members of the Crips and Bloods rival gangs at the Imperial Courts, Nickerson Gardens, and Jordan Downs projects drafted a treaty based on an Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement, announced a truce, and effected a moratorium on inter-gang killings. Then the riots/ uprising/rebellion happened; presidential hopeful Bill Clinton toured the area. Tony Bogard was one of the truce’s authors and Lixenberg’s initially reluctant contact in the community. He wanted to know what the photographs would do for the residents. Hands Across Watts, the community-based economic development organization that he helped found, was floundering, unable to garner the corporate support that seemed so promising just a year before. Although he no longer lived at Imperial Courts, ex-gangbanger Bogard became a cause célèbre and spokesman for the ‘hood, even appearing on Oprah. Had he not been murdered in January 1994 by someone from his own gang, the PJ Watts Crips, he would have seen that life at Imperial Courts and in Watts is today much as it was in 1993, and that, ironically, it is Lixenberg’s photographs that endure to bear witness to his life, his friends, and neighbors. Around the same time that Lixenberg arrived in Los Angeles, then-newly-elected NAACP chairman Ben Chavis took up residence at the Courts for several days awaiting the second verdicts, making promises and holding news conferences with the Courts as his sound-bite backdrop. Jesse Jackson came and stayed along the way, too. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, in whose district the Courts belong, was also a frequent presence, chatting with neighbors while news crews followed.
Then, on February 17, a USA Today newspaper team transformed what was supposed to have been a positive story and photograph of homeboys turning in their weapons in a guns-for-jobs exchange into gang members arming themselves and threatening more violence with the caption: “Bravado: Los Angeles gangs say riots are certain if white police officers are acquitted of violating Rodney King’s civil rights. And ‘there will be more shooting.’” 5 It was in this atmosphere that Lixenberg arrived at Imperial Courts, using a traditional, slow, cumbersome 4x5, tripod-mounted view camera. Setting herself up in a courtyard, she engaged people to stop and pose as they went about their days, in the exchange creating elegantly stark, unforgettably beautiful black-and-white portraits of people who, for the most part, would have gone unrecorded and unphotographed. Photo historians like to say that the introduction of the Kodak box camera in 1888 made photography accessible to everyone, but practical life experience has proven otherwise. Not every household has or uses a camera; for many families, picture-taking is relegated to once-a-year school photos and driver’s licenses, with an occasional prom or wedding thrown in. Lixenberg’s images, like those of Richard Avedon or Chuck Close, belong to a genre of portraiture that is more studied, formal, and controlled, in which the subject emerges as more than a likeness-he or she becomes a monumental and essential archetype of humanity. When Lixenberg returned to Imperial Courts five years later to find and give her subjects the prints she had initially promised them, they cracked up over hairstyles and clothes they can’t believe they wore back then, marveled at how young so-and-so looked, and were astonished that she had cared to make good on her promise to give them prints of the images they had participated in making. They remembered her instantly as the woman who “made them famous” when VIBE magazine published a dozen of the images in November 1993. They also told her that one of the men she had photographed, Spider, had been killed by DJ [Identified as “Shanky” in the original version of the text. —Ed.], an adolescent whom she had also photographed striking a defiant, wary pose that belied his tender age. Several people asked Lixenberg if they could have a copy of the portrait of Spider—although he had been popular and a positive presence in the community, no one had a picture of him to preserve along with their verbal recollections. Not only was it unusual for an outsider to take enough interest to make such a sympathetic, honest document of them at a particular time, but, moreover, many of the people did not even keep an ongoing visual document of their own lives. Although contemporary culture is so image-saturated and jaded, photographs, especially portraits, still have a remarkable power to validate our existences and to demand recognition of the lives depicted. They are repositories of memory, both collective and personal, and we tend to take for granted their ability to command respect and convey emotion, to stop us dead in our tracks as we find an unspoken communion in the glance or gesture of a stranger or a friend. As a photographer myself, I know that there would be few pictures of many of the people in my
own family, who go darting and hiding from sight whenever I point the viewfinder at them, were it not for my insistence in capturing their likenesses at any and every family gathering. I always try to appeal to them to cooperate by saying: “What about your grandkids or their grandkids? One day, when you’re long gone, they’re going to want to see who you were, who they came from.” The argument rarely works, so their descendants will mostly know that my godmother and cousin had beautiful hands and fast reflexes. In looking at Lixenberg’s photographs, I remember scrambling to shove family albums into shopping bags back in 1992 when we feared the worst and had to quickly and selectively choose what was worth saving of what we had accumulated. What would Lixenberg’s subjects grab, I wonder, if they had to quickly flee their homes? Would they take her portraits with them now, to cherish and preserve? Through her photographs, Lixenberg has given her subjects a valuable, tangible connection to their pasts, as well as their futures. Moreover, she has given the rest of us a powerfully moving testament to their spirit.
1. From “People of Watts,” by Ntozake Shange, a poem inspired by Dana Lixenberg’s photographs, in VIBE (November, 1993), 79. 2. James Baldwin in 1972, quoted in Lynell George, “30 years after the Watts riots, two Angelenos look back and ask: Why did it happenand will it happen again? ” Los Angeles Times Home section, (August 11, 1995), 1. 3. From the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) website, http://www.hacla.org/ about/aindex.htm, accessed November 10, 1998. 4. From a conversation with the photographer. 5. CaShears, “Dissecting a media controversy, Activist: ‘Paper has done disservice,’” USA Today (March 1, 1993), 11A.
171
1993
172
Skinny, 2012 p.256
Monti, 2008 p.205
Annie, 1993
Annie, 1993 p.174
Annie, 2013 p.263
Mitika, 2009 p.230
Monti, 2015 p.284
Monti, 2015 p.284
p.137
sister of Skinny; mother of Monti and Mitika
Annie and Monti, 2015 p.284
Annie, 1993 p.174
Antloc and Mastermind, 1993
174
Mitika, 2009 p.230
Annie, 1993
sister of Skinny; mother of Monti and Mitika
1993
p.13
Lil Smiley, 2010 p.234
Monti, 2008 p.205
Skinny, 2012 p.256
Annie, 2013 p.263
Big Rick, 1993
Big Shaan, 1993
p.79
Big Smiley, 1993 brother of Lil Smiley
Annie and Monti, 2015 p.284
p.42
Bud, 1993
Carlos and Bam, 1993
1993
p.130
175
Bouk’s Memorial, 2013 p.263
Dee Dee, 2008 p.196
Tye, 2008 p.211
Dee Dee and Emir, 2013 p.265
Tye, 2008 p.211
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Romeo, 2013 p.272
Chin with his daughter Dee Dee, 1993
China, 1993 (†2009)
p.35
brother of Bouk; father of Dee Dee; grandfather of Emir
Tye, 2013 p.273 p.44
mother of Tye and Keisha; grandmother of Romeo
Coco, 1993
p.99
Da Da, 1993
Da Da, 2013 p.264 China, 1993 p.176
Tye, 2008 p.211
B, 2008 p.194
Tye, 2008 p.211
Lil Trice, 2008 p.204
Da Da, 2013 p.264
Angie, 2013 p.262
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Romeo, 2013 p.272
China, 1993 (†2009)
p.148
mother of Tye and Keisha; grandmother of Romeo
Tye, 2013 p.273
Chris, 1993
brother of B and Lil Trice; son of Angie
p.157
Dean and friend, 1993
p.30
Deidre, 1993
p.128
China, 1993 p.176
176
1993
1993
177
Dominos, 1993
DJ, 1993
p.94
Eddie, 1993
p.7
El Capone, 1993
Fancy, 2013 p.266
YG, 1993 p.191
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
YG, 2012 p.258
Man Man, 2013 p.271
Fisher, 1993
p.126
Fisher, 2008 p.197
Dooley, 1993
Dusty with his dog Too Short, 1993
p.8
Elaine, 1993
p.115
sister of YG; mother of Fancy, Man Man and But But
Elaine, 2012 p.249
178
1993
1993
179
Elaine, 1993 p.179
Kadejah, 2013 p.267
Bentley, 2015 p.282
Elaine, 2012 p.249
Gloria, 1993
p.38
Gloria and YG, 1993
p.93
YG: sister of Elaine
J50, 1993
Heedy, 1993
J50, 2013 p.264
YG, 2013 p.264 Gloria, 1993 p.180
Gloria, 1993 p.180
YG, 1993 p.191
p.27
mother of Kadejah
YG, 2012 p.258
J50, 2008 p.198
J50, 2013 p.266
Diamond, 2008 p.203
Marylee, 2008 p.235
Sparkle, 2009 p.229
Grafitti by E-Man, 1993
Goldie, John and Tish, 1993 John: brother of Diamond and Sparkle
p.41
J Bo and friends, 1993
p.24
Jeff, 1993
p.23
father of Marylee
John, 2008 p.212 Jeff, 2013 p.266
180
1993
1993
181
Laquita, 1993
p.108
Louise, 1993
182
Lil Jeff, 1993
p.12
Mac, 1993
1993
1993
183
Maureen, 1993
p.56
One Love, 1993
184
1993
Miyong with her son Anthony, 1993
Peanut, 1993
1993
p.6
p.147
185
Pork Chop and Destiny, 2009 p.228
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Ke’Juan, 2008 p.201
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Floss, 2012 p.250
Sa’Marra, 2012 p.256
Toussaint, 2015 p.286
Shamilia and Quintina, 1993
KenYuan, 2012 p.254
Pork Chop, 1993
Relonda and Kenny with Antwanette, 1993
p.159 Relonda: mother of Antwanette, Ke’Juan, KenYuan and Kendrick Kenny: father of Keisha, Floss, Ke’Juan, KenYuan and Kendrick; grandfather of Kashmir and Romeo
father of Destiny and De’Asia
Pork Chop, 2009 p.227
Antwanette, 2008 p.194
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Relonda with Kendrick, 2009 p.228
Antwanette, 2012 p.248
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 p.272
Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Romeo, 2013 p.272
p.53
Quintina, 2010 p.238
Selena, 1993
p.49
sister of Toussaint; mother of Sa’Marra
Selena, 2008 p.208
Ke’Juan, 2015 p.283
Kashmir, 2015 p.285
Ramona, 1993
186
p.9
1993
Sharon, 1993
p.11
1993
Sherry, 1993
187
DP, 2008 p.196
Buddy, 2009 p.217
Floss, 2012 p.250
Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Sherry Berry, 1993
Snoop, 1993
p.101
p.60
Tanya K, pregnant with Buddy, 1993
mother of Floss, DP and Buddy; grandmother of Kashmir
p.90
Kashmir, 2015 p.285
TB, 1993 (†1994)
p.158
Tanya K, 2008 p.209
Samone, 2008 p.208
Ray, 2008 p.207
Tania, Shanaboo with her son Lavell, and Sharon, 1993
The Buckley’s, 1993
Tinae and friend, 1993
p.70
Tinae, 2009 p.230 Tinae, 2009 p.230
Lavell, 2008 p.202
Spider, 1993 (†1997)
p.5
father of Samone and Ray
188
1993
1993
189
Deshawn, 2012 p.249
Trisha, 2014 p.279
Sista, 2009 p.229
Selena, 1993 p.187
Te’yanah, 2013 p.273
Selena, 2008 p.208
T’Keyah, 2008 p.209
T’Keyah, 2013 p.273
Tyrone and De’Anthony, 2013 p.273
Tony, 1993 (†2006)
p.85
brother of Deshawn and Trisha; father of Te’yanah; son of Sista
Tony’s Memorial, 2010 p.239
Toussaint, 1993
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Wilteysha, 1993
Wayne, 1993
p.15
brother of Selena; father of T’Keyah, Tyrone, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; grandfather of De’Anthony
p.141
Wilteysha, 2013 p.274
Toussaint with Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Elaine, 1993 p.179
Bentley, 2015 p.282
Elaine, 2012 p.249
Vernell, 1993
Uzzi, 1993
p.120
YG, 1993
Uzzi, 2008 p.212
YG, 2013 p.264 Vernell, 2009 p.230
190
Untitled, 1993
sister of Elaine; owner of Bentley
1993
YG, 1993 p.180
YG, 2012 p.258
1993
191
2008
192
1993
Ke’Juan, 2008 p.201
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Kendrick, 2012 p.249
Relonda with Kendrick, 2009 p.228
Chris, 1993 p.176
Yahonna, 2008 p.213
Angie, 2013 p.262
Yahonna, 2013 p.274
Lil Trice, 2008 p.204
KenYuan, 2012 p.254
Cude’s Memorial, 2008
Ke’Juan, 2015 p.283
Antwanette, 2008
sister of Ke’Juan, KenYuan and Kendrick; daughter of Relonda
Relonda and Antwanette, 1993 p.186
Antwanette, 2012 p.248
B, 2008
Big Yay-Yay, 2008
Becky with her children Matthew, Bryan, Dali’lah and John, 2008
Danesha, Fu Fu and Toddy, 2008
brother of Chris and Lil Trice; son of Angie
father of Yahonna
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 p.272
Brittany, 2009 p.216
Marvella, 2008 p.204
Basimah and Keithayonna, 2008
Keithayonna: sister of Brittany; daughter of Marvella
p.104
Dante’s puppy, 2008
Keithayonna, 2008 p.202
194
2008
2008
195
Dedrick, 2008 p.219
Carvy, 2009 p.217
Dedrick, 2012 p.251
Dedrick with customer, 2008
Dee Dee, 2008
father of Dedrick
daughter of Chin
Chin and Dee Dee, 1993 p.176
Buddy, 2009 p.217
Dee Dee, 2013 p.265
Fisher, 2008
Felicia, 2008
Fisher, 1993 p.179 Felicia, 2009 p.220
Tanya K, 1993 p.189
Floss, 2012 p.250
Tanya K, 2008 p.209
Fresh, 2008
p.66
Fresh, 2008 p.197
DP, 2008
E Rocc, 2008
brother of Buddy and Floss; son of Tanya K
196
2008
Fresh, Real, Flave and 4Doe, 2008
2008
p.92
197
Kadejah, 1993 p.267
Fu Fu, 2008
p.146
J50, 2008
p.28
mother of Kadejah
J50, 2013 p.264
Fu Fu, 2008 p.195 J50, 1993 p.181
J Wood, 2008
Jennifer, 2008
J50, 2013 p.266
p.144
Jennifer, 2008 p.201
198
2008
2008
199
Jennifer, Yasmine and Jasonnae, 2008
Antwanette, 2008 p.194
Jay Jay, 2008 (†2011)
p.139
Relonda and Kenny with Antwanette, 1993 p.186
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Floss, 2012 p.250
Relonda with Kendrick, 2012 p.228
KenYuan, 2012 p.254
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 p.272
Ke’Juan, 2008
brother of Keisha, Floss, Antwanette, Kendrick and KenYuan; son of Relonda and Kenny
Kee Kee, Bay Bay, Relonda and Keishell, 2008
Ke’Juan, 2015 p.283
200
2008
2008
201
Brittany, 2009 p.216
Marvella, 2008 p.204
Acacia, 2013 p.262
John, 1993 p.180
John, 2008 p.212 Lil Anthony, 2013 p.263
Sparkle, 2009 p.229 Cai, 2013 p.265
Leah and Diamond, 2008
p.151
Diamond: sister of John and Sparkle
Diamond, 2015 p.282
Keishell, 2008
LeErica, 2008
Keithayonna, 2008
sister of Cai, Acacia and Lil Anthony
sister of Brittany; daughter of Marvella
Keithayonna, 2008 p.194
Keishell, 2008 p.201
LeErica, 2013 p.267
Loppey, 2014 p.278
Kevin, 2008
Lavell, 2008 son of Shanaboo
p.69
Lil Yang, 2008
Lil Drawz with his son Poppey, 2008
Shanaboo and Lavell, 1993 p.188
202
2008
Lil Drawz, 2012 p.251
2008
Lil Drawz with Loppey and Poppey, 2012 p.254
Lil Drawz, 2013 p.274
203
Mitika, 2009 p.230 Chris, 1993 p.176
Angie and Kenneth, 2013 p.262
Annie, 1993 p.174
LaNisha, 2009 p.221
B, 2008 p.194
Annie, 1993 p.174
G Boo, 2010 p.235
Annie, 2013 p.263
Lil Trice, pregnant with Kenneth, 2008 sister of Chris and B; mother of Kenneth; daughter of Angie
Mimi, 2008
Linda, 2008
Monti, 2008
p.59
sister of LaNisha and G Boo
sister of Mitika; daughter of Annie
Monti, 2015 p.284
Keithayonna, 2008 p.194
Monti and Annie, 2015 p.284
Porshay, 2012 p.254
Keithayonna, 2008 p.202
Brittany, 2009 p.216
Mai Mai, 2008
Marvella, 2008
mother of Keithayonna and Brittany
Nell, 2008
My My, 2008
brother of Porshay
Nell, 2009 p.219 My My, 2013 p.271
204
2008
Nell, 2009 p.225
2008
205
Nicole, 2009 p.225
Nicole, 2015 p.285
Quoya, 2008
Rachel and Raven, 2008 Raven: sister of Nicole
Raven, 2012 p.255
Darion, 2012 p.248
Samone, 2008 p.208
Rahinique, 2008
Spider, 1993 p.188
Ray, 2008
sister of Darion
brother of Samone; son of Spider
Rahinique, 2012 p.255
206
2008
2008
207
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
Tyrone, 2013 p.273
Spider, 1993 p.188
Ray, 2008 p.207
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Toussaint with Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Ro Ro, 2008
Samone, 2008
sister of Ray; daughter of Spider
Shakia with Timothy, 2008
T’Keyah, 2008
sister of Tyrone, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; daughter of Toussaint
T’Keyah, 2013 p.273
Tinae, 1993 p.189 Toussaint, 1993 p.190
Sa’Marra, 2012 p.256
Danesha, 2008 p.195
DP, 2008 p.196
Steve, 2010 p.238
Tinae, 2009 p.230 Buddy, 2009 p.217
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Floss, 2012 p.250 Toussaint, 2015 p.286
Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Selena, 2008
Shabre, 2008
sister of Toussaint; mother of Sa’Marra
sister of Tinae
Selena, 1993 p.187
208
Tanya K, 2008
mother of Floss, DP and Buddy; grandmother of Kashmir
Tiffany, 2008
mother of Danesha and Steve
Tiffany’s Car, 2012 p.257
Tanya K, 1993 p.189
2008
Kashmir, 2015 p.285
2008
209
T’Keyah, 2008 p.209
Selena, 1993 p.187
Selena, 2008 p.208
Tish’s Baby Shower, 2008
T’Keyah, 2013 p.273
Tyrone and De’Anthony, 2013 p.273
p.36
Toussaint, 2008
p.16
brother of Selena; father of Tyrone, T’Keyah, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; grandfather of De’Anthony
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
Keisha, 2010 p.234
China, 1993 p.176
Toussaint with Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Keisha, 2010 p.234
China, 1993 p.176
China, 1993 p.176
China, 1993 p.176
Tye, 2008
p.45
sister of Keisha; daughter of China
Tye, 2008 p.211
210
2008
Tye and Candace, 2008
Tye: sister of Keisha; daughter of China
Tye, 2013 p.273
Tye, 2008 p.211
2008
Tye, 2013 p.273
211
Big Yay-Yay, 2008 p.195
Day Day, 2009 p.218
Quinny, 2009 p.228
Uzzi, Willis and John, 2008
Yahonna, 2008
sister of Day Day and Quinny; daughter of Big Yay-Yay
Untitled (birthday party), 2008
Yahonna, 2013 p.274
Veronica, 2008
Veronica, 2013 p.274
Willis, 2008
Wedo, 2008
Untitled, 2008
Willis, 2008 p.212
212
2008
2008
213
2009
214
2008
Acacia, 2013 p.262
Boo Boo, 2009 p.216
Brian, 2015 p.282
DP, 2008 p.196
Tanya K, 1993 p.189
Floss, 2012 p.250
Anthony, 2009
Bay Bay, 2009
Anthony and Lil Anthony, 2013 p.263
Bay Bay, 2008 p.201
Dee Dee, 2013 p.265
Carvy, 2009
p.91
brother of Floss and DP; son of Tanya K
Keithayonna, 2008 p.194
Bay Bay, 2008 p.201
p.105
brother of Dee Dee
Marvella, 2008 p.204
Sista, 2009 p.229
Keithayonna, 2008 p.202
Bay Bay, 2009 p.216
Boo Boo with his son Lil Boo Boo, 2009 brother of Bay Bay
216
Buddy, 2009
sister of Boo Boo; mother of Brian
father of Acacia and Lil Anthony
Tanya K, 2008 p.209
Dee Dee, 2008 p.196
2009
p.55
Brittany, 2009
sister of Keithayonna; daughter of Marvella
p.39
Chocolate, 2009
Cleophas, 2009 brother of Sista
2009
217
Dedrick, 2008 p.196
Dizzy, Bert and Nell, 2009
D, 2009
D-Ray, 2009
Dedrick, 2009
D-Ray, 2009 p.218
Dedrick, 2012 p.251
p.61
son of Dedrick
Yahonna, 2008 p.213
Quinny and Yahonna, 2009 p.228
D-Ray, Cal, Reggie and XZavien, 2009
Yahonna, 2013 p.274
Dou Dou and Reso with their son Lil Reso, 2009
p.107
Day Day, 2009
brother of Yahonna and Quinny
218
2009
Don, 2009
2009
219
Skinny, 2012 p.256
Mimi, 2008 p.205
Lil Motoe, 2009 p.223
Nooka, Nay and G Boo, 2010 p.235
Marveon, 2015 p.284
Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Elizabeth, 2009
p.102
Felicia, 2009
Lakeia with her children, 2009
LaNisha, 2009
Larry and Chris, 2009
Latonya, 2009
wife of Skinny
sister of Mimi and G Boo; mother of Nooka, Nay, Lil Motoe, Marveon, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna
Felicia, 2008 p.197
Guadalupe, Alex, Rocio and Marilyn, 2009
220
2009
Kit Kat and Raven, 2009
2009
p.109
221
Lenny, 2009
Lay Lay with her son CJ, 2009
Nooka and Nay, 2010 p.235
LaNisha, 2009 p.221
Marveon, 2015 p.284
Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Lil Motoe, 2009
Lichelle and Tyisha, 2009
222
2009
sister of Nooka, Nay, Marveon, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; daughter of LaNisha
2009
223
Sherita, 2012 p.256
Sunny Girl, 2012 p.257
Sunny Girl, 2015 p.285
Mayra, Gladis and Jazmin, 2009
p.76
Jazmin and Gladis: sisters
Gladis, 2012 p.249
Jazmin, 2012 p.250
Jazmin and Gladis, 2014 p.278
Nathalie with her daughter Bellahin, 2009
Mommy, 2009
sister of Sunny Girl; daughter of Sherita
Nee Nee, 2009
p.68
Nee Nee, 2012 p.254
Jazmin, 2015 p.283
Porshay, 2012 p.254
Raven, 2008 p.207
Raven, 2012 p.255
Moothie, 2009 (†2010)
p.80
p.33
Nell, 2009
Nicole with her son Tu Tu, 2009
brother of Porshay
sister of Raven
Nell, 2009 p.219
Moothie’s Memorial, 2011 p.243
224
Nae Nae, Nu Nu and Camelia, 2009
Nu Nu, 2009 p.227
2009
Nell, 2008 p.205
Nicole, 2015 p.285
2009
225
Sierra, 2013 p.272
Nu Nu, 2009
p.63
sister of Sierra
Oscar and Jerome, 2009
Jerome, 2010 p.238
Nu Nu, 2009 p.224
Pork Chop and Destiny, 2009 p.228
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Pig with her son Lil Babo, 2009
Lil Babo, 2012 p.249
226
2009
Pork Chop, 2009
father of Destiny and De’Asia
Pork Chop, 1993 p.186
2009
227
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Big Yay-Yay, 2008 p.195
Day Day, 2009 p.218
Johnneshia with Jaimani, 2015 p.283
Pork Chop and Destiny, 2009
Quinny and Yahonna, 2009
Pork Chop : father of Destiny and De’Asia
Pork Chop, 1993 p.186
Rubi and Paula, 2009
p.133
Quinny: sister of Day Day, Yahonna and Jaimani; daughter of Johnneshia Yahonna: sister of Day Day and Quinny; daughter of Big Yay-Yay
Yahonna, 2008 p.213
Pork Chop, 2009 p.227
Shrimp, 2009
p.43
Yahonna, 2013 p.274
Cleophas, 2009 p.217
Tony, 1993 p.190
Tony’s Memorial, 2010 p.239
John, 1993 p.180
Diamond, 2008 p.203
John, 2008 p.212
Deshawn, 2012 p.249
Relonda with her son Kendrick, 2009
Diamond, 2015 p.282
Te’yanah, 2013 p.273
Reggie, 2009
p.143
Sista, 2009
Sparkle, 2009
p.86
sister of Cleophas; mother of Tony, Trisha and Deshawn; grandmother of Te’yanah
Trisha, 2014 p.279
sister of John and Diamond
Reggie, 2009 p.218
228
2009
2009
229
Shabre, 2008 p.208
Candis, Tinae, Jasmine and Mitika, 2009
p.106
Tinae, 2009
Yeikia, 2009
sister of Shabre
Tinae, 1993 p.189
Trouble, 2009
p.19
Tinae, 2009 p.230
Vernell, 2009
p.121
Vernell, 1993 p.190
230
2009
2009
231
2010
232
2009
Ronikia, 2010 p.238
Reginald, 2012 p.255
Tye, 2008 p.211
China, 1993 p.176
Jeff, 2008 p.181
Tye, 2008 p.211
China, 1993 p.176
Jeff, 2013 p.266
Tye, 2013 p.273
Kenny, 1993 p.186
Mike Mike’s Memorial, 2010
Romeo, 2013 p.272
Dizzy, 2010
Keisha, 2010
brother of Reginald and Ronikia
p.149
Marylee, 2010
sister of Tye; mother of Romeo; daughter of China and Kenny
daughter of Jeff
Lisa K, 2010
Nisha, 2010
p.22
Dizzy, 2009 p.219
Big Smiley, 1993 p.175
Lil Smiley, 2010 brother of Big Smiley
234
2010
Nooka, Nay, Nay and G Boo, 2010
2010
235
236
2010
2010
237
Dizzie, 2010 p.234
Tony, 1993 p.190
Reginald, 2012 p.255
Quintina, 2010
Ronikia with De’onnie, 2010
Quintina, 1993 p.187
Ronikia and De’onnie, 2012 p.248
sister of Dizzie and Reginald
Janiah, 2011 p.242
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Tony’s Memorial, 2010
Tiffany, 2010
p.87
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Steve, Jerome and Radio, 2010
Untitled, 2010
Radio, 2012 p.248 Jerome, 2009 p.227
Shawna, 2010
p.155 sister of Janiah and De’Asia; mother of Kashimir; daughter of Meachie; granddaughter of Maedis
Shawna, 2011 p.242
238
Shawna and Kashimir, 2013 p.267
Tracy, 2010
Shawna and Kashimir, 2015 p.285
2010
2010
239
2011
240
2010
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Fancy, 2013 p.266
Lil Freak, 2013 p.270
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Man Man, 2013 p.271
Creo and Quisha, 2011
Creo: brother of Meachie; father of Lil Freak, Fancy, Man Man and But But; son of Meadis
Creo, 2014 p.278
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Shawna, 2010 p.238
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Meachie, 2013 p.271
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Shawna, 2013 p.267
Moothie’s Memorial, 2011
Shawna, 2015 p.285
Moothie, 2009 p.224
Janiah, 2011
Moe, 2011
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Moe, 2011 p.242
sister of Shawna and De’Asia; daughter of Meachie; granddaughter of Maedis
Tania and Valerie, 2011
Mercedes, Shawna and Moe, 2011
June, 2011
June, 2011 p.244 Shawna, 2010 p.238
242
2011
Moe, 2011 p.243
Shawna, 2013 p.267
Shawna, 2015 p.285
Nu Nu and China, 2011
Nu Nu and China, 2011 p.244
2011
243
Trayvon, Nu Nu, China and June, 2011
244
2011
2011
245
2012
246
2011
Tony, 1993 p.190
Sista, 2009 p.229
Tony’s Memorial, 2010 p.239
Fancy, 2013 p.266
YG, 2012 p.258
Man Man, 2013 p.271
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Trisha, 2014 p.279
Antwanette, Ronikia, De’Onnie and friends, 2012
AJ, George, White Boy, Tramell and Radio, 2012
YG, 1993 p.191
Deshawn, 2012
Elaine, 2012
p.89
brother of Tony and Trisha; son of Sista
p.117
sister of YG; mother of Fancy, Man Man and But But
Elaine, 1993 p.179
Stephanie, 2012 p.256
Jazmin, 2012 p.250
Rahinique, 2008 p.207
Jazmin, 2015 p.283
Rahinique, 2012 p.255
Elija, Daddy man, Kendrick with Precious, Anthony and Lil Babo, 2012
Cecilia, 2012
Darion, 2012
sister of Stephanie
Estrellita and Gladis, 2012
p.123
Gladis: sister of Jazmin
brother of Rahinique
Gladis with Jazmin, 2009 p.224
248
2012
2012
Gladis and Jazmin, 2014 p.278
249
DP, 2008 p.196
Kenny, 1993 p.186
Ke’Juan, 2008 p.201
Tanya K, 1993 p.189
Buddy, 2009 p.217
Tanya K, 2008 p.209
Keisha, 2010 p.234
KenYuan, 2012 p.254
Ke’Juan, 2015 p.283
Tasha, 2012 p.257
Kevin, Semaj, Royshawn, Tywvan, Dedrick and CJ, 2012
Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Floss, 2012
p.163 brother of Keisha, DP, Ke’Juan, Buddy and KenYuan; son of Kenny and Tanya K; father of Kashmir
Infant Wedo, 2012
Kashmir, 2015 p.285
Lamart, 2012
p.51
brother of Tyshaea and Ryan; son of Tasha
Floss, 2013 p.274
Infant Wedo with Tyshaea and Ryan, 2012 p.258
Shawna, 2010 p.238
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Gladis, 2012 p.249
Loppey, 2014 p.278
Meachie, 2013 p.271
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Shawna, 2013 p.267
Shawna, 2015 p.285
Janiah, 2012
p.57
sister of Shawna and De’Asia; daughter of Meachie; granddaughter of Maedis
Janiah, 2011 p.242
250
Jazmin, 2012
Jazmin and Gladis, 2009 p.224
2012
La Quita H, 2012
sister of Gladis
Jazmin and Gladis, 2014 p.278
Lil Drawz, 2012
father of Poppey and Loppey
Jazmin, 2015 p.283
Lil Drawz with Poppey, 2008 p.203
2012
Lil Drawz with Loppey and Poppey, 2012 p.254
Lil Drawz, 2013 p.274
251
252
2012
2012
253
Nicole, 2009 p.225
Darion, 2012 p.248
Nicole, 2015 p.285
Loppey, Poppey and Lil Drawz, 2012
Lil Heavy, 2012
Poppey and Lil Drawz, 2008 p.203
Raven, 2012
Rahinique, 2008 p.207
Raven, 2008 p.207
Reginald, 2012
Roberto with Rene and Ivan, 2012
sister of Nicole
Dizzy, 2010 p.234
Ronikia, 2010 p.238
Ke’Juan, 2008 p.201
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Relonda with Kendrick, 2012 p.228
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Floss, 2012 p.250
254
Rahinique and Jaquan, 2012 Rahinique: sister of Darion
Loppey, 2014 p.278
Relonda and Kenny with Antwanette, 1993 p.186
Antwanette, 2008 p.194
Ke’Juan, 2015 p.283
Lil Drawz, 2012 p.251
Lil Drawz, 2013 p.274
p.129
Nee Nee, Chupa, Porshay, Sydnee, 2012
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 p.272
Maje and KenYuan, 2012
KenYuan: brother of Floss, Keisha, Antwanette, Ke’Juan, and Kendrick; son of Relonda and Kenny
2012
brother of Dizzy and Ronikia
2012
255
Selena, 1993 p.187
Mommy, 2009 p.224
Selena, 2008 p.208
Mommy, 2009 p.224
Sherita, 2012 p.256
Infant Wedo, 2012 p.250
Sunny Girl, 2012 p.257
Tyshaea, Ryan and Infant Wedo, 2012 p.258
Sunny Girl, 2015 p.285
Sa’Marra, 2012
Sherita, 2012
p.48
mother of Mommy and Sunny Girl
daughter of Selena
Sunny Girl, 2012
p.95
Tasha, 2012
mother of Infant Wedo, Tyshaea and Ryan
brother of Mommy; son of Sherita
Sunny Girl, 2015 p.285
Lakeia with her children 2009 p.221
Annie, 1993 p.174
Cecilia, 2012 p.248
Annie, 1993 p.174
Annie, 2013 p.263
Tiffany’s Car, 2012 Annie, 2015 p.284
Tiffany, 2008 p.209
Stephanie with her daughter Jahlah, 2012
Skinny, 2012
sister of Cecilia
brother of Annie; husband of Lakeia
256
2012
Tasha with her daughter Meya, 2012
2012
257
Tasha, 2012 p.257
Elaine, 1993 p.179
Bentley, 2015 p.282
Elaine, 2012 p.249
Tyshaea, Ryan and Infant Wedo, 2012 daughter and sons of Tasha
YG, 2012
p.103
sister of Elaine; owner of Bentley
YG, 2013 p.264 Infant Wedo, 2012 p.250
258
YG, 1993 p.180
2012
YG, 1993 p.191
2012
259
2013
260
2012
LeErica, 2008 p.203
Anthony, 2009 p.216
Skinny, 2012 p.256
Monti, 2008 p.205
LeErica, 2008 p.203
Acacia, 2013 p.262
Mitika, 2009 p.230 Cai, 2013 p.265
Cai, 2013 p.265
Anthony and Lil Anthony, 2013 p.263 Monti, 2015 p.284
LeErica, 2013 p.267
LeErica, 2013 p.267
Acacia, 2013
Aacurah, 2013
Annie, 2013
sister of Cai, LeErica and Lil Anthony; daughter of Anthony
Anthony with his son Lil Anthony, 2013
sister of Skinny; mother of Monti and Mitika
Annie, 1993 p.174
Chris, 1993 p.176
Annie, 1993 p.174
Anthony: father of Acacia and Lil Anthony Lil Anthony: brother of Cai, LeErica and Acacia; son of Anthony
Annie and Monti, 2015 p.284 Anthony, 2009 p.216
Solé, 2013 p.272
B, 2008 p.194
Lil Trice, 2008 p.204
Bouk’s Memorial, 2013
Aiden Alexander with his grandmother, 2013
262
2013
Angie and her grandson Kenneth, 2013 Angie: mother of Chris, B and Lil Trice Kenneth: son of Lil Trice
p.34
Antone, 2013 brother of Solé
2013
263
Chupa, 2012 p.254 LeErica, 2008 p.203
Shawna, 2010 p.238
Pork Chop, 1993 p.186
Acacia, 2013 p.262
Janiah, 2011 p.242
Pork Chop, 2009 p.227
Lil Anthony, 2013 p.263
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Shawna, 2013 p.267
LeErica, 2013 p.267
Chastity, 2013
p.114
Chris Bob, 2013
Danielle and Cai with their daughter Kaili, 2013
brother of Chupa
Pork Chop and Destiny, 2009 p.228
Cai: brother of LeErica, Acacia and Lil Anthony; father of Kaili
Shawna, 2015 p.285
Maedis, 2013 p.270
De’Asia, 2013
sister of Shawna, Janiah and Destiny; daughter of Pork Chop and Meachie; granddaughter of Maedis
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Carvy, 2009 p.217
Da Da, J50 and YG, 2013
Dee Dee with her son Emir, 2013
p.154
p.37
sister of Carvy; daughter of Chin
Dee Dee and Chin, 1993 p.176
Dee Dee, 2008 p.196
De’Lon, 2013
Da Da, 2013
Da Da, 2013 p.264 Da Da, 1993 p.177
264
2013
2013
265
Lil Freak, 2013 p.270
Elaine, 1993 p.179
J50, 1993 p.181
Kadejah, 1993 p.267
J50, 2008 p.198
Creo, 2011 p.242
Man Man, 2013 p.271
J50, 2013 p.264
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Elaine, 2012 p.249
JosĂŠ and Carlos, 2013 J50, 2013 p.266 Maedis, 2013 p.270
Creo, 2014 p.278
Fancy, 2013
J50, 2013
Kadejah, 2013
p.31
mother of Kadejah
sister of Lil Freak, Man Man and But But; daughter of Elaine and Creo; granddaughter of Maedis
p.29
daughter of J50
J50, 2013 p.264 J50, 1993 p.181
J50, 2008 p.198
Marylee, 2008 p.235
Kenny, 1993 p.186
Acacia, 2013 p.262
Tanya K, 1993 p.189
Lil Anthony, 2013 p.263
Tanya K, 2008 p.209
Cai, 2013 p.265
Floss, 2012 p.250
Jeff, 2013
p.25
father of Marylee
Jeff, 1993 p.181
266
Joe, 2013
Kashmir and his mother Shawna, 2013
Kashmir: son of Floss and Shawna; grandson of Tanya K, Meachie and Kenny; great-grandson of Maedis
Shawna, 2010 p.238
2013
Kashmir and Shawna, 2015 p.285
2013
p.164
Maedis, 2013 p.270
LeErica, 2013
Meachie, 2013 p.271
LeErica, 2008 p.203
sister of Cai, Acacia and Lil Anthony
267
268
2013
2013
269
Shawna, 2010 p.238
Creo, 2011 p.242
Fancy, 2013 p.266
Elaine, 1993 p.179
Lil Freak, 2013 p.270
Creo, 2011 p.242
Elaine, 2012 p.249
Janiah, 2011 p.242
Man Man and his sister But But, 2013
brother of Fancy, Lil Freak and But But; son of Elaine and Creo; grandson of Maedis
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Leslie and Ashley, 2013
Maedis, 2013
p.111
p.167 mother of Meachie and Creo; grandmother of Shawna, Janiah, De’Asia, Fancy, Lil Freak, Man Man and But But; great-grandmother of Kashmir
Maedis, 2013 p.270
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Creo, 2014 p.278
Man Man, 2013
p.113 brother of Fancy, Lil Freak and But But; son of Elaine and Creo; grandson of Maedis
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Fancy, 2013 p.266
Shawna and Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Fancy, 2013 p.266
Creo, 2011 p.242
Shawna, 2010 p.238
Creo, 2011 p.242
Lil Freak, 2013 p.270 Man Man, 2013 p.271
Creo, 2014 p.278
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Man Man, 2013 p.271
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Creo, 2014 p.278
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Shawna and Kashmir, 2013 p.267
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Lil Freak, 2013
Meachie, 2013
brother of Fancy, Man Man and But But; son of Creo; grandson of Maedis
sister of Creo; mother of Shawna, Janiah and De’Asia; daughter of Maedis; grandmother of Kashmir Creo, 2014 p.278
270
2013
Shawna and Kashmir, 2015 p.285
2013
My My, 2013 Maedis, 2013 p.270
Shawna and Kashmir, 2015 p.285
My My, 2008 p.205
271
China, 1993 p.176
Tony, 1993 p.190
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
Tyrone, 2013 p.273
China, 1993 p.176
Sista, 2009 p.229
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Kenny, 1993 p.186
Tony’s Memorial, 2010 p.239
Toussaint with Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013
Relonda and Antwanette, 1993 p.186
Antwanette, 2008 p.194
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Relonda and Kendrick, 2009 p.228
Romeo, 2013
p.161
Te’yanah, 2013
T’Keyah, 2013
son of Keisha; grandson of China and Kenny
Antwanette, 2012 p.248
p.84
daughter of Tony; granddaughter of Sista
sister of Tyrone, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; daughter of Toussaint
T’Keyah, 2008 p.209
Antone, 2013 p.263
Nu Nu, 2009 p.224
Keisha, 2010 p.234
China, 1993 p.176
China, 1993 p.176
Nu Nu, 2009 p.227
T’Keyah, 2008 p.209
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
T’Keyah, 2013 p.273
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
Toussaint with Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Sierra, 2013
p.75
sister of Nu Nu
Solé, 2013
sister of Antone
p.125
Tye, 2013
Tye, 2008 p.211
272
2013
Tyrone with De’Anthony, 2013
sister of Keisha; daughter of China
p.14
brother of T’Keyah, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; father of De’Anthony; son of Toussaint
Tye, 2008 p.211
2013
273
Veronica, 2013
Wilteysha, 2013
Veronica, 2008 p.212
Wilteysha, 1993 p.191
Day Day, 2009 p.218
p.142
Big Yay-Yay, 2008 p.195
Quinny, 2009 p.228
Writing Session (Floss, Lil Freak, Drawz and Chad), 2013
p.72
Yahonna, 2013
sister of Day Day and Quinny; daughter of Big Yay-Yay
Yahonna, 2008 p.213
274
2013
2013
275
2014
276
2013
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Fancy, 2013 p.266
Tony, 1993 p.190
Lil Freak, 2013 p.270
Deshawn, 2012 p.249
Sista, 2009 p.229
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Man Man, 2013 p.271
Chris, 2014
p.81
Creo, 2014
brother of Meachie; father of Lil Freak, Fancy, Man Man and But But; son of Meadis
Man Man and But But, 2013 p.271
Trisha, 2014
sister of Tony and Deshawn; daughter of Sista
Untitled, 2014
Creo, 2011 p.242
Poppey and Lil Drawz, 2008 p.203
Lil Drawz, 2012 p.251
Jazmin and Gladis, 2014
Loppey, 2014
Gladis and Jazmin, 2009 p.224
Loppey, Poppey and Lil Drawz, 2012 p.254
sisters
278
Jazmin, 2012 p.250
p.131
brother of Poppey; son of Lil Drawz
Jazmin, 2015 p.283
2014
2014
279
2015
280
2014
YG, 1993 p.180
Gladis, 2012 p.249
Bay Bay, 2008 p.201
YG, 1993 p.191
Bay Bay, 2009 p.216
YG, 2012 p.258
YG, 2013 p.264
Bentley, 2015
Brian, 2015
son of Bay Bay
YG’s dog
p.119
Fifth floor, 2015
Jazmin, 2015
p.77
sister of Gladis
Jazmin with Gladis, 2009 p.224
Quinny, 2009 p.228
Jazmin, 2012 p.250
Jazmin and Gladis, 2014 p.278
Antwanette, 2008 p.194
Relonda and Kenny with Antwanette, 1993 p.186
Keisha, 2010 p.234
Relonda, 2008 p.201
Floss, 2012 p.250
Diamond with Felia and Sheena, 2015
KenYuan, 2012 p.254
Diamond, 2008 p.203
Bryan, 2015
p.67
Relonda and Kendrick, 2012 p.228
p.150
Johnneshia with her daughter Jaimani, 2015 mother of Quinny and Jaimani
Relonda and Antwanette, 2013 p.272
Ke’Juan, 2015
brother of Keisha, Floss, Antwanette, Kendrick and KenYuan; son of Relonda and Kenny
Bryan, 2008 p.194 Ke’Juan, 2008 p.201
282
2015
2015
283
Mitika, 2009 p.230 Lil Motoe, 2009 p.223
LaNisha, 2009 p.221
Nooka and Nay, 2010 p.235
Annie, 1993 p.174
Raven, 2008 p.207
Annie, 1993 p.174
Raven, 2012 p.255
Annie, 2013 p.263 Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 p.286
Marveon, 2015
Monti, 2015
p.145
Nicole, 2015
p.136
sister of Mitika; daughter of Annie
brother of Nooka, Nay, Lil Motoe, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; son of LaNisha
Monti, 2008 p.205
Richard with his daugther Zukya, 2015
p.71
sister of Raven; mother of Tu Tu
Monti and Annie, 2015 p.284
Nicole and Tu Tu, 2009 p.225
Mitika, 2009 p.230 Skinny, 2012 p.256
Janiah, 2011 p.242
Maedis, 2013 p.270
Janiah, 2012 p.250
Meachie, 2013 p.271
Sherita, 2012 p.256
Mommy, 2009 p.224
De’Asia, 2013 p.265
Monti and Annie, 2015
Monti: sister of Mitika; daughter of Annie Annie: sister of Skinny; mother of Monti and Mitika
Annie, 1993 p.174
Annie, 1993 p.174
Monti, 2008 p.205
Annie, 2013 p.263
Monti, 2015 p.284
Neik, 2015
Shawna with her son Kashmir, 2015
p.165 sister of Janiah and De’Asia; mother of Kashimir; daughter of Meachie; granddaughter of Maedis
Shawna, 2010 p.238
284
2015
Shawna, 2011 p.242
Sunny Girl, 2015
p.97
brother of Mommy; son of Sherita
Sunny Girl, 2012 p.257
Shawna and Kashimir, 2013 p.267
2015
285
Selena, 1993 p.187
T’Keyah, 2008 p.209
Selena, 2008 p.208
T’Keyah, 2013 p.273
Tyrone and De’Anthony, 2013 p.273
Toussaint with his twins Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna, 2015 brother of Selena; father of T’Keyah, Tyrone, Ty’Onne and Ty’Onna; grandfather of De’Anthony
Toussaint, 1993 p.190
286
Toussaint, 2008 p.211
2015
287
288
2015
2015
289
Notes on Twenty-two Years at Imperial Courts Dana Lixenberg
Kenneth Cox (Floss), 2015
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Imperial Courts is easy to miss when driving past it on the 105 Freeway. It’s a repetitive series of twostory housing blocks, all painted in similar pastel hues, with clear unit numbers painted on their sides. I always feel a combination of excitement and apprehension when I return there. Excitement when driving down the 110 and across the 105, or down Alameda Boulevard before turning into the Courts, passing through familiar streets, on the verge of reconnecting with people I have come to know and care about over many years. Apprehension about what I may find, about what has transpired in the time that I’ve been away... During my last visit to Imperial Courts, I found myself sitting at the location of my first introduction to the neighborhood twenty-two years earlier, in March 1993: a playground next to the parking lot at 115th Street & Croesus Avenue, although it wasn’t the same playground anymore. The original one had been refurbished over the years. The old playground is where I made a portrait of China with rollers in her hair, standing on the steps of a slide, leaning back with gusto (p. 44). I would usually first connect with her whenever I rolled into Imperial Courts, and she was much loved in the neighborhood. China became a friend. She was smart and bright, a mother to two beautiful daughters, Keisha and Tye (pp. 149, 45). She drank too much. She was funny, incredibly charismatic, and sometimes even annoying. She never really managed to get it together, and she didn’t go anywhere until she went missing in 2009. She was presumed to have been murdered, but her body was never found. She is greatly missed by many. I think of her often, and love looking at the close-up portrait I made of her (p. 148). Her eyes express a mischievous attitude so typical of who she was. My visit to Imperials Courts in the spring of 2015 was to be my last before the publication of this book, and over the duration of my stay I was overcome by a feeling of melancholy. I have grown extremely attached to the community shown in these photographs. When asked about my motivation behind the work, when asked why I’m in Imperial Courts making these photographs, I find myself scrambling to give a clear, cohesive answer. I struggle to come up with a well-defined justification of this work. After twenty-two years, I have reached a point where I just can’t imagine not being here, not having Imperial Courts in my life, not knowing the people I’ve met here over the years. I’ve matured into middle age over the course of this project, alongside many of the people I’ve photographed. They’ve seen me age and fill out (as they often like to point out, to my chagrin). I’ve discovered my language as a photographer with this work, and I built my photographic practice partly on the back of the first pictures I made at Imperial Courts in 1993. It has become a place of reference for me over the years, and the lives and changes that I have witnessed here have helped me to reflect on my own life, on my relationship to my work, and on the value that photographs might have for their subjects.
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In 1992, I traveled to South Central Los Angeles on assignment from Vrij Nederland, a Dutch weekly magazine, for a story on the destruction and rebuilding of the area after the Rodney King riots that broke out after the LAPD officers involved in his beating were acquitted. Being physically present in South Central following the riots touched me deeply. Driving around desolate streets that resembled a war zone, smelling the air, meeting people, coming into contact with the human toll of pervasive racial injustice—all of this had a significant impact on me. The reality of any explosive situation is at once more and less dramatic, and always more nuanced and complex than what the mainstream media can convey, so being there in South Central enabled me to be confronted with people’s individual and collective experience of a long and ongoing history of violent events. That magazine assignment was the genesis of my Imperial Courts work. It awakened an impulse to spend more time there. I became interested in exploring gang culture and life in the projects through a stripped-down and de-sensationalized photographic approach, particularly after witnessing the extremely one-dimensional reporting of the outrage that followed the acquittal of the officers involved in King’s beating. I knew I wanted to start working with a large-format camera and black-andwhite film, so that I could produce quiet, undramatic portraits. My intention was to expose the charismatic power of individual people, and to avoid stereotypical representation, or any overt references to gang affiliations. But at that time, I had no clear idea where I was going to make the work, and no clue how I was going to go about getting access. I had recently met members of The Black Carpenters association, a collective of contractors and activists. During my next trip to Los Angeles, they introduced me to OG Tony Bogard, also known as TB (p. 158), who was a leader of the Imperial Courts PJ Watts Crips turned peacemaker, and an unofficial godfather of the community. I met Tony at his house, where he lived with his longtime girlfriend, Becky; a ten-minute drive from Imperial Courts, where both of them were born and raised. He didn’t know what to make of me. He had also invited his friend, Malik Spellman, and together they subjected me to what felt like an (appropriately) demanding job interview. One of the first questions Tony put to me was: “What do we get out of this?” To which the only honest answer I could give him at that moment was that I didn’t know. I could only show him how I would approach the work, and say that I hoped the photographs themselves would be somehow worthwhile. I rented a 4x5 large format camera and did a test shoot, making portraits of Malik and of a young member of Tony’s gang. Tony kind of liked what he saw, and said that he would be willing to work with me. Around that time, I was invited to show my work at an upcoming photography festival in the Netherlands, and I received a grant from the Mondriaan Fund. I bought a new Wista 4x5 field camera with a standard lens—the same equipment
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I still use to this day—and I bought a ticket to Los Angeles, rented a car and a room for a month, and off I went. Upon my return to Los Angeles, Tony’s mind was focused on a peace treaty he had helped broker between the Crips and the Bloods. He seemed reluctant to make good on his word, and possibly embarrassed to show up with me in his neighborhood. He also felt that nobody would want to be photographed by me. He certainly didn’t. After persistently showing up at his house, where I was lucky to have Becky’s support, Tony finally relented. He needed a ride one day, and I was there. We drove down to Imperial Courts in silence, and parked the car at the lot next to the playground. He got out to join his friends, and left me hanging. I sat down and waited. At some point, Tony nudged his friend, André (Rainey), in my direction. André had just been released from prison, and was interested in video and photography. He became my assistant for the next three weeks. It was the pre-cell phone era, so on most days we met up at that playground around noon. It was a slow start; there was some initial reluctance on the part of the residents, but working with this large, awkward camera and shooting Polaroids must have helped to win people over. Every day, I would bring the results from the previous sessions, and I spent a lot of time just hanging out, gradually gaining people’s trust and managing to make their portraits. I worked only with available light, photographing outside. I shot very little film each day, due to budget restrictions, but also due to not yet being in possession of a loading tent for my sheet film, which meant I had to load and unload my film cassettes at night in a darkened bathroom. Of course, without Tony’s approval and permission, I would not have been able to make a single picture. On my last day in Imperial Courts during that first extended visit, Tony finally allowed me to make his portrait—less than a year before he was killed by a member of his own gang. Two months later, the Imperial Courts work was presented in the Netherlands, after which a portfolio of the work was published, with great care, in one of the first issues of Vibe magazine. This marked the start of an important creative partnership for me, and subsequently, the start of my photographic career in the United States. I paid a couple of visits to Imperial Courts over the following years, to bring prints and to keep in touch. In 1999, I had my first show of the work from 1993 in the United States, at the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies (LACPS) on Hollywood Boulevard. I invited as many people from Imperial Courts to come to the opening as I could, by going around the Courts handing out piles of invites. But no one came. Then the work disappeared into a drawer. I needed fifteen years to arrive at the point where I felt compelled to return with my camera to Imperial Courts. This was not something I had originally intended. I had created a document of a community at a particular, even pivotal, time in its history. I considered the work to be finished and done.
Several different factors played into my return, but one of the main reasons was the feedback from the residents with regard to the photographs made in 1993. Their response to the work had become increasingly evocative over time. Children had grown up and given birth to children of their own, some had died, too many were or had been in jail. The series had become a documentation of personal histories and familial connections over time. The narrative of the portraits had expanded. The memories the work evoked now revealed a powerful sense of community, and inspired me to return to working in Imperial Courts, which I did intensively starting in 2008. The photographs from 1993 marked a particular time in the history of Imperial Courts. When I went back with my camera in 2008, the context had changed. The public attention fixed on Watts after the 1992 riots, the promise to address social inequalities and injustice, had all but waned. Imperial Courts had once again become the invisible, underserved community it was before. Apart from some cosmetic changes in the neighborhood, the dire conditions that create a dead-end situation for many of its residents didn’t seem to have improved. Returning to a highly treasured body of work always poses a big challenge, and I felt that it was going to be hard to match the strength, the visual depth, and the clarity of the photographs from 1993. I soon realized that a one-time visit, bookending a fifteen-year period, was not going be sufficient. Gradually, I expanded my ideas about the work, and the scope of the project grew. Besides the individual portrait (which was the main component of the 1993 work), I started to focus on the landscape more frequently. I began to make more group portraits, despite having ignored the few I made in 1993. I purchased an audio recorder, and began to record conversations and reactions to the photographs and the people in them. I came to realize that the work had much further to go, and that allowing it to do so would (hopefully) complement what I had made all those years before. It was in this phase, in 2012, that I began to make video work, which was a first for me. Each medium has its own inherent set of possibilities and limitations. Moreover, I felt that there were certain aspects of life I observed and experienced at Imperial Courts that I couldn’t express in photographs. Working with photographs that skip between different years, one can suggest rich stories contained in the tentative relationship between single images. Video has the capacity to document moments in real time, to show the movement and rhythm of time, and to capture the subtle dynamics hidden in daily life. I had reached a level of familiarity with the residents of Imperial Courts where it became possible for me to pull out my compact digital camera on the spur of the moment, in order to film scenes (often quite mundane) that caught my attention while making photographs with my large 4x5 camera. With the added layer of sound, I was able to capture the soundtrack of the neighborhood: the endless ice cream truck jingles, the sound of helicopters hovering overhead, the freeway and salsa music competing with the beats of rap music or old school R&B, and, of course, the sounds of people’s voices.
By 2014, as a third generation of children had been born in the Courts since I began in 1993, I was slowly nearing a natural end point for the work, or at least a point where I was ready to present the work as a book, and in an exhibition. I had always considered that this work would need to be completed in published book form, and I had used rough digital books to show people in the Courts and receive feedback while I continued to make photographs over the years, since returning to the project in 2008. However, it occurred to me in 2014 that I was reaching a point where I had now gathered enough material to finish the work. I had the sense that we had all reached the end of an era, and I realized that I had been working on a project during a period in which friends had raised full-grown children, others had sadly passed away or disappeared, and both of my parents had died. When I returned to Imperial Courts for the last time in 2015, I finally made a photograph of that rebuilt playground where the work first really began (p. 134). It’s impossible for me to entertain the idea that this book marks the end of my relationship with the community of Imperial Courts. I will certainly continue to go back there and explore ways in which to further my creative relationship with the community. The question Tony challenged me with during our very first meeting continues to linger in my mind: “What do we get out of it?” I still can’t really answer his question… What do photographs give to people, outside of the opportunity to remember our past and those we might otherwise forget? I can only hope that I am not mistaken in seeing these photographs as testament to my relationship to the community of Imperial Courts, and I hope that, over the years, the existence of these images continues to be of some value to the people who live there. August 2015
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Dana Lixenberg Imperial Courts 1993—2015 Published by Roma Publications, Amsterdam Photographs: Dana Lixenberg Texts: Kenneth Cox, Dana Lixenberg, Carla Williams Design: Roger Willems Design assistant: Ayumi Higuchi Scans and lithography: Sebastiaan Hanekroot, Colour & Books, Apeldoorn Proofreading: Dutton R. Hauhart, Reitz Ink, Amsterdam Printing: Die Keure, Bruges Distribution: Idea Books, Amsterdam Individual orders: www.romapublications.org Community edition: 500 copies Trade edition: 2000 copies First edition 2015 © Photographs: Dana Lixenberg © Texts: Kenneth Cox, Dana Lixenberg, Carla Williams Roma Publication 247 ISBN 9789491843426
My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the people of Imperial Courts for accepting me into their community, especially to those individuals who have inspired me and who appear on these pages; Becky Hammonds, Malik Spellman, Rodney White for their help in getting the project off the ground in 1993; Obera Washington (“Boo Boo”) for his invaluable assistance over the past eight years, and André Rainey for paving the way in 1993. I also wish to thank: Roger Willems for his thoughtful commitment to this publication; Ayumi Higuchi, Sebastiaan Hanekroot, Hans Gremmen, Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa, and Carla Williams for their critical contributions; Marc Valesalla (Silversharpprint, Los Angeles), Michael Windig (De Verbeelding, the Netherlands), Griffin Editions, New York; George Pitts and the editorial team at Vibe for a beautiful presentation of the work on the magazine’s pages in November 1993 and the creative relationship that followed it, and Ntozake Shange for her beautifully poignant poem accompanying the portfolio; Aleim Johnson for his enthusiasm and support of my work over the years; Nanda van den Berg and the staff at Huis Marseille; Roebyem Anders, Marietta de Vries, Mireille Mosler, Zwi Wasserstein, Riekje Ziengs, Melle van Essen, Mark Glynne, Jan Roelfs, Rudie Kagie, Mischa Cohen, Jenny Smets, Jacqueline Hassink, Iris Rozenboom, Willemieke Kars, Rianne Randeraad, Vincent Toussaint, Eefje Blankevoort, Arnold Verbruggen, Laura Verduijn, Sarah Wong, Onno Lixenberg; Mondriaan Fonds for their essential support of this project, and the individual collectors and friends who supported this publication by acquiring a print. I dedicate this book to the community of Imperial Courts and to the memory of TB, Spider, Tony, China, Moothie, Jay Jay, and my parents, Saskia and Cyril. Dana Lixenberg
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2011
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With Love
1993—2015
Dana Lixenberg
To Imperial Courts, Watts, Los Angeles