In Rikkí Wright’s celebration of Juneteenth, the past and the present dance alongside each other — pointing toward a future filled with possibility. For Image, the photographer and filmmaker created a short film in commemoration of the holiday, a three-minute dedication to herself and her ancestors which she describes as “a meditation on the reclamation of one’s own freedom.” In it, vintage clips — including Maya Angelou reciting “The Mask” — are woven into scenes of celebration from the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival last week. “Juneteenth, a day my ancestors claimed as the day they recognized themselves as free,” writes Wright. “Not waiting on paper or man to validate that fact.”
For the film Juneteenth, Rikk Wright takes back her freedom and herself.
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