Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  IDENTITY

Picture Perfect
2004-11-01

This article shared 4440 times since Mon Nov 1, 2004
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


BY ANDREW DAVIS

Even though it's a compliment, to call Chicago-born photographer Michelle V. Agins accomplished would be giving her short shrift. Not only has she worked for several journals but she currently works for one of the world's best-known newspapers, The New York Times. Moreover, she has won many awards—not the least of which is the Pulitzer Prize.

From Oct. 22 to Dec. 15, Agins—along with photographer Michael Bracey—will be featured in an exhibit called 'Haiti: Two Stories' at Bethel Cultural Arts Center. She recently spoke with Windy City Times about everything from her early influences to the importance of bulletproof vests.

Windy City Times: You were born and raised in Chicago. What was that like?

Michelle Agins: It was a nicer time than it is now. I get bummed out when I go back and see only two houses standing [where I used to live].

WCT: How did you get interested in photography?

MA: I lost my mother at an early age and my grandmother was a little sick of me being under her feet, so she found something for me to do. She found a camera; cleaned it up; gave me a dollar; and told me to go to the drugstore at the corner ࿓st and Calumet) and ask the pharmacist to put some film in the camera. Well, that unleashed a whole new world for me. [Photography] then became a major addiction for me.

WCT: Do you remember the very first picture you took?

MA: It was of a puppy. My grandfather had an old dog but I also had a dog to keep me company. They figured that the old dog wouldn't do anything—but the last thing it did was my dog! [Laughs] Later, I took a black-and-white picture of a puppy that was born.

I would also take pictures around the neighborhood. I would photograph folks on the street, including gang members. It was interesting.

WCT: You've worked for a few magazines, including Jet, Ebony, and Sports Illustrated ...

MA: I did freelance work for those magazines. Sports Illustrated was like within the last 10-15 years. [I worked for] Ebony, Jet, and the Chicago Defender when I was growing up. I actually started as a copy girl for The Chicago Daily News; that's where I got my foot in the door. Believe me, I've paid my dues.

WCT: What has been the worst assignment you've had?

MA: Which time? [Laughs] Since I've been with the Times, the 129th Street [in New York City] project stands out in my mind. It was a year-long project about a neighborhood [infested] with guns and drugs. [The reporter and I] got in with everybody but it took a while. The women [in the neighborhood] that the reporter talked to thought I was cool—and that helped me. In that year, I became so embedded that I became closer to the subjects than the reporter did. She actually got scared because it got really heavy; I got involved with the drug dealers themselves. They would tell me about one young lady who was a drug mule because she had to supplement her welfare checks. I moved out of Brooklyn and got a sleeping area to get close to [the residents]. Of course, I saw a lot of sad things.

It was bad at the end. It was time to wrap things up and leave. Sometimes you can get so embedded that it's hard to come out. The Times helped me work that out. Unfortunately, the story didn't turn out like [the residents] wanted it to. The reporter and I had to leave town for a while; they sent the boys after us.

WCT: But everything's cool now ...

MA: Oh, yes! I was sent to the Miami bureau for a while. Then, I went to Washington and Chicago. I came to New York four or five months later. Of course, other things were happening at the time; we had the first World Trade Center bombing as well as the Oklahoma City bombing. There's always something going on.

WCT: What did you win the Pulitzer for?

MA: I was one of a team of 15 who worked on a piece called 'Race in America.' I was paired up with Don Terry, who's now with the Chicago Tribune. Basically, we did a piece on his life and growing up in a biracial family. His mother was white and his father was Black. She left her white family (including children) to marry a Black man, so there was a lot of anger in the families. Each pair had a vignette; we all shared a Pulitzer for national reporting. That happened in 2000.

WCT: Your upcoming show in Chicago centers around Haiti.

MA: [Photographer Michael] Bracey apparently went there during a nicer time; I went in the midst of the coup d'etat this past March. I spoke with [then-president] Bertrand Aristide. I then had to hide out.

WCT: You know, you're doing a little too much hiding out for my comfort.

MA: Let me tell you something: This is some real hidin' out. At first, I cracked up when I was given a bulletproof vest and medical equipment [before I left for Haiti]. I didn't understand how important those things would be until I got there. I saw one person get a machete in the back and another person get shot in the back of the head.

WCT: Whoa!

MA: I ended up face-to-face with an outlaw [at one point]. I tried to see a journalist in a hospital in Port-au-Prince but the place was locked up. [Some others and I] went around to the front where someone would let us in. Then, we ended up with a gun in our faces; I froze. A reporter—Lydia Holmgren—screamed at me to run. I started running, thinking that the guy's gonna shoot me in the back. The only thing that stopped him was that the police was coming in his direction. Then, I dove under a car. Afterwards, I was warned not to do that again because someone could blow up the car.

I [eventually] got to meet Aristide. After leaving this incredible palace, I took pictures of this poor woman standing just outside the place. She seemed to be saying, 'Why me?'

WCT: Wow.

MA: Then, we went to [the port city of] GonaVves, most of which no longer exists because of [hurricane] Ivan the Terrible.

The places I photographed probably are no longer there.

We journalists traveled as a large group. Gunmen there told us that we had to leave our cars in one spot; eventually, we were told that we could bring our cars in but had to leave them at a checkpoint. We finally won the battle and were allowed to talk to the head rebel in GonaVves. However, we had rifles trained on us. The head rebel said that he planned to march into Port-au-Prince and take the city away from Aristide. We got pictures of lots of things, like looters, cement miners, and dead bodies. Seeing dead bodies became normal. It was not pretty.

In [the city of] Cap Haitien, we constantly heard gunshots around our hotel. We had to stay at places that were gated. Otherwise, the gunmen would get you. We had to be on guard because disruptions could occur between pro-Aristide and anti-Aristide people. We talked to the mayor, who said that everything was under control. However, it was very tense; you never knew what was around the next corner. At one point, we saw missile strikes from our hotel. I started thinking that getting my vest was a good idea. It turned out that just about everything, including the mayor's house, was bombed.

At one point, I actually fixed a fellow journalist who was shot in the chest; I used sutures that were provided to me. You don't know what's inside you until you're in a situation like [the ones in Haiti].

WCT: I'm glad that I'll be looking at your pictures in Chicago. I can't imagine what you went through.

MA: I see these photos as projections of the news. I want you to see things as I saw them. You know that knot you get when you don't know what's around the corner? That [feeling] was ongoing.

Bethel Cultural Arts Center is at 1140 N. Lamon. For more information, call 齅) 378-3600 or visit www.BethelCulturalArts.com .


This article shared 4440 times since Mon Nov 1, 2004
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater
2024-03-26
--From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...


Gay News

'Rumors' performers create alternative drag playground
2024-03-24
At first glance, Dorian's Through The Record Shop (1939 W. North Ave.) looks like a brightly-lit shop with a handful of records on the wall, but there's a secret world behind those unassuming shelves. Visitors are ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret
2024-03-05
Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade
2024-03-01
In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-01
On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


Gay News

Oklahoma non-binary student dies after being assaulted
2024-02-21
Officials acknowledged there are unresolved questions about a 16-year-old non-binary Oklahoma student who died one day after a fight in a high school bathroom, NBC News noted. Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, ...


Gay News

GLAAD releases report on LGBTQ+ inclusion in video games
2024-02-19
LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD has released a report on queer inclusion in the world of video games. Among the key findings in "Gaming: The State of LGBTQ Inclusion in Video Games" is that 17%—nearly one in ...


Gay News

Democrat flips seat once held by George Santos
2024-02-14
On Feb. 13 in New York, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election to succeed the U.S. congressional seat formerly held by openly gay Republican George Santos, who was recently ousted. According to NBC News, Suozzi's ...


Gay News

$200,000+ raised at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate Fundraiser to fight HIV/AIDS
2024-02-13
--From a press release - (Chicago, IL) More than 950 guests gathered at Chicago's famed Union Station (500 W. Jackson) for Chicago's Sweetest Fundraiser, AIDS Foundation Chicago's (AFC), World of Chocolate on Friday, February 9. ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni
2024-02-12
Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


Gay News

Chicagoans indulge in a World of Chocolate
2024-02-11
AIDS Foundation of Chicago hosted its 2024 World of Chocolate celebration the evening of Feb. 9 at Union Station. Top chocolatiers from across the city allowed guests to sample numerous confections, hors d'oevres and libations for ...


Gay News

GLAAD remembers Cecilia Gentili, transgender Latina, actress, activist, health care activist, journalist
2024-02-06
--From a press release - (New York, NY - February 6, 2024) GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is responding to the death of transgender actress and advocate Cecilia Gentili and elevating voices of transgender and political leaders honoring ...


Gay News

Comcast NBCUniversal partners with News is Out, Word In Black on fellowship program highlighting Black, LGBTQ+ issues
2024-02-06
--From a press release - Digital Equity Local Voices Lab Fellows to be placed at 16 local publications to receive training and create content Philadelphia (Feb. 6, 2024) — News is Out [ https://newsisout.com ] , a queer media collaborative of ...


Gay News

SAVOR Chocolatier Uzma Sharif on being part of World of Chocolate
2024-02-03
AIDS Foundation Chicago will hold its annual World of Chocolate event on Friday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. at Union Station, 500 W. Jackson Blvd. Attendees will embark on a global tour of chocolate—but there will ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.