[PHOTOGRAPHY] Mom. PhD in Ride or Die Philosophy

By Jalani Morgan

[Note from the Editor: Jalani Morgan is our guest male contributor for the month of January]

Mom.

PhD in Ride or Die philosophy.

Locsuria Hair Care System.

Self Employed.

Two Children.

Single Income.

Hair Care Genius.

30 years of devotion to hair.

33 years of devotion to parenthood.

My ability to have the ambition to take on a life as an artist would not have been achieved without a direct and intimate reference point: My mother.

Raised two children with one income.

An income that wasn’t from a job of security.

No.

It was with her hands and desire to provide a love for hair that I have not seen matched to this day.

She endured. Oh she endured. Endured a life that delivered tragedies and triumphs. Sometimes I think the tragedies outweigh the triumphs.

But that smile endures.

It’s a smile that humbles me when I’m wondering how I can endure being an artist full time. It humbles me because I know I have to endure.

I have no children. I have no mortgage.

Keep pressing J.

Mom does it on the daily.

30 years of devotion to promoting hair and now is embarking on a journey through her hair product Locsuria. The main goal of Locsuria is to dismantle hair products that have done damage to not just black hair but all hair. You’ve reached PhD levels when you can say “Hair is Hair”.

Erene ‘Reeny’ Morgan exudes the Ride or Die spirit and for that I am thankful and I know whoever has come in contact with Reeny is too.

---

Jalani Morgan has established himself as a photographer, mentor and cultural influence in South Scarborough and the greater arts community in Toronto. Over the past ten years Jalani has built an impressive portfolio creating pieces for: TEDxToronto, Daniel Spectrum Gallery, CONTACT photography festival and has contributed to exhibits at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Most recently Jalani, mentored and taught a group of over twenty emerging photographers. The program [We Are Lawrence] took place over a four month period. The program culminated in an outdoor street exhibit along Lawrence Ave East. This area of Scarborough is routinely under-served, in terms of art investment. For many of the youth this program and mentorship provided the first opportunity to showcase their work. Jalani has played a mentorship role in several other community initiatives including: To Scarborough with Love, a judge panel position with ArtReach Youth Pitch contest and the Remix Project. Jalani is currently working towards a degree at York University in Anthropology and African Studies. He intends to use this education and Anthropological lens to further help him explore representation, Blackness and questions of identity in the African Diaspora