Jerry Siegel
Black Belt Color
I am a strong believer in place, and how a region, community and a home will shape who you are. The place I know, where I was raised, is the Black Belt region of the American South. It is how I was raised, as a Southerner and as a Jew in a small southern town, instilled with belief in family and tradition that motivates me to document the place I call home. The values, customs and history were passed down from generation to generation, through images and storytelling.
I was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, in the heart of the Black Belt region. Selma was a vibrant, small southern town, really not that different from many towns throughout the South. So many things have changed in Selma and the region since I left, and it's not the place I remember. Yet I have never lost my attachment to and sentiment for the area. Even with the passing of my parents, my siblings and I have kept the family home, and still maintain a bond with our past.
And so, I travel back to my home, to the Black Belt, to Selma and the surrounding area to tell the story of the ever-changing region, using my camera to capture this reality as I see it, and the emotions that accompany it.
I have explored and documented my family home, the Temple where we were raised, the town of Selma and the Black Belt region. My intent is to depict the South I have always known as well as the new look of the South as it moves forward through changes due to poverty, the exodus from rural areas and the ambiguous economics of the area.
All these images have come about through my concern for the region and the need to tell the story of what this region is now. With conviction and love of the area, I work to capture what I refer to as the Contemporary South. It is not the South of Atlanta, with its tall glass buildings and big commerce. And it's not the old South of falling down shacks, rusted signs and kudzu-covered areas. It is the South of today.