On my other blog, I started with Emmeline Goulding Pankhurst's quote about broken window panes. Pankhurst seems like a historical figure that I should know better. I love history; I majored in Women's Studies, yet I don't know much about her. Do people less interested in these things know her better than I do or is she another example of a forgotten woman of history?
I have not been writing much during 2018 on this blog or my main photography blog at www.bryanfarleyphotography.com. The longer I waited, the more difficult it became to post again. I had too much to cover.
Two months ago I turned 50, which is the golden anniversary. The second semester of 2018, I taught photography and video production at Acalanes High School. (I also traveled to Denver with my daughter to see Taylor Swift.) I spent Father's Day photographing roller derby and I also visited my birthplace Riverside, California on the 50th anniversary of my adoption. All of these, and other issues, informed my recent posts (or lack of).
I thought by 50, I would have found my place in the world, but I think my place is bigger than one location. I have too many homes for one place... too many interests or causes. Sometimes I feel neglected or overlooked, and then I learn more about the Emmeline Pankhursts and I gain a little perspective on my small travels.
On July 2nd, I felt that I traveled much further than San Bernadino County. I went to the city where I was born for the first time in 47 years. I was adopted when I was about six weeks old and my father's best friend lived in Riverside until 1971.
I hoped to learn about my early identify. Am I interested in California Missions, because Riverside has the largest Mission Revival building in the US, the Mission Inn. Is there any connection between my love for photography and the California Museum of Photography?
Can I find what I need if I keep searching? I hope the answer is Yes I Can. I have always known that I try to see more than most people and that can make others uncomfortable. It is probably why I feel more comfortable around photographers and activists. Those people are trying to see more and do more. They are trying to connect people to something bigger than themselves.
When I started taking photos for the roller derby and Emmeline post, I already knew about the broken windows at the Bay Area Derby warehouse. I tried to connect the theme to the images. I also tried to use slow shutter speed on some of the other photos. One of the Denver skaters is #50 Scald Eagle. Since there seemed to be a developing theme around the #50, I hoped to use some of these photos, but I had too much going on. I also wanted to take more portraits with the broken window pane, but that didn't happen.
The Emmeline Pankhurst quote include the word argument, but I think her life is more of a question.
What do we say about those we call militant?
British Suffragettes were labeled militant, and Pankhurst seemed willing to accept the label. In news accounts of the day, Emmeline was called a "wild woman" and worse. She didn't let others minimize her effort.
She may have assumed that "history was on her side," but 100 years later, history has forgotten her. Instead of creating tributes to her and others like her, we have created new female superheros and we call it progress.
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