“The mothers are often forgotten in this, and they should never have to endure this pain.”

Photographer Jon Henry uses his artistic voice to offer a moving perspective on the murder of Black people by U.S. police. His series Stranger Fruit—named after the Billie Holiday song—depicts mothers with their sons as they reenact a scenario that is a very real fear for Black families in America. The photos feature sons, lifelessly draped in their mothers’ arms, in a pietà-esque pose that recalls works from art history. “The mothers are often forgotten in this,” Henry explains to My Modern Met, referring to the larger social issue, “and they should never have to endure this pain.”

Henry began Stranger Fruit in 2014 and it is nearly complete. “The project has stayed the same [since the beginning], conceptually,” he says, “just grown in scale as I’ve gone to more and more locations and connected with more families.” He makes these connections online and through his extended social network. Henry then meets the families where they live. The locations span the country, offering a reminder to viewers that Black people everywhere fear for their safety.[…]

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