I'm shooting a gangbanger, but as a dignified man. That's pretty much what war photography did: seeing images of soldiers in a dignified way. They might have been killers in Vietnam, but I'm seeing another side of them, and looking at images of the the American soldiers, also the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong - I never saw an enemy.
Jamel ShabazzSometimes we are just divided, but we still, for the most part, we have similar hopes and dreams.
Jamel ShabazzWhat I strive to do through my work, is to teach compassion. You need to have a lot of it, in this day and time, and it's lacking.
Jamel ShabazzThe photograph is to a great degree evidence of the conversation I had with the person. It's a part of my visual diary.
Jamel Shabazz