Publisher's Synopsis
On Inauguration Day, 2009, a group of photographers who were in Washington to document the ceremony began a conversation that led to the foundation of Facing Change. This nonprofit collective has a bold mission: to create a new national portrait of America. Its members include some of the country's most celebrated photojournalists. Their vision is inspired by the Farm Security Administration's project, "Documenting America," which followed events surrounding the Great Depression. Documenting the challenges of modern America, these photographs offer compelling, haunting and uplifting stories of people around the country who are coping with the aftermath of recent events: immigration, health care, housing, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Katrina, the great recession and profound economic disparity. The book includes images from the original FSA project as well as interviews with curators from the Library of Congress, which together illustrate photojournalism's role in engendering change in America. The Facing Change photographers are each introduced in intimate essays that describe their history, work and aspirations for the project.The photographs' eloquence, beauty and revelations tell a collective story that continues to unfold, that affects every one of us, that will last many lifetimes and, it is hoped, impact some of the lives it has touched.
