The nonprofit and photographer behind images of black male inmates that were displayed and then removed from the Atlanta Beltline have released a joint statement in defense of the photos.
The exhibit featured photos from Canine CellMates, which uses dogs to help prisoners at Fulton County Jail. The organization was created to help inmates while they're in jail, but the images displayed only showed black men with dogs.
In early September, the photos were taken down by Shawn Deangelo Walton, who lives near the trail off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. He told Channel 2 Action News he removed them because there’s no need to display “more stereotypical images about black men being incarcerated.”
In response, the Beltline apologized and said the photos didn't reflect its commitment to "make art accessible to everyone" in a respectful way. Canine CellMates' director told Channel 2 the photos weren't intended to offend or disrespect anyone but could be misunderstood without any context.
The nonprofit elaborated Wednesday in a joint statement with photographer Kelly Kline, who volunteered "hundreds of hours" to capture the images.
"The images ... were intended to highlight a positive rehabilitation program within the Fulton County Jail," according to the statement released on Facebook. "The anger over these images is misdirected and those seeking to ban the images are misinformed."
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The message continued:
"We are on the front lines, working every day to counteract the problem of recidivism. We are helping men affected by incarceration change their lives in positive ways, so that they can return to the community as productive citizens. The demographic disparity of that wider population need not — we feel — ever be whispered about or concealed in any way by anyone. We only see incarcerated men who need a second chance at life. We see men with the potential to become good citizens and loving fathers."
The group said it is supportive of anyone who is passionate about mass incarceration and the “disproportionate number of black men that are incarcerated in Fulton County and elsewhere.”
After the photos were removed, Beltline officals met with the community to discuss ways to make photo selection a more inclusive process. Beltline CEO Brian McGowan, who wasn’t in charge at the time photos were chosen for the exhibit, told Channel 2 his goal is to create a new policy for how his team choses art to be displayed.
See the report from Channel 2:
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