In the fall of 2019, we gave point-and-shoot film cameras to 12 Southern California parents of young children and invited them to document their lives. Since then, A LOT of things have changed: a pandemic, economic downturn and a national reckoning with the country’s history of racism and police violence, to name a few.
Yet, isn’t parenting so often about guiding kids through life’s big changes? Just as there was no one parenting experience before the pandemic, there is no single parenting experience during it, either. Throughout it all, these 12 parents continued taking photos with their phones and sharing with us how their lives were changing.
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Park Mesa Heights • Ages 33 (Ali) & 23 (Kaur) • Elder caregiver (Ali) & FedEx delivery driver (Kaur) • Live with Raheem (4) and Kalima (3) -
South L.A. • Age 27 • Data entry specialist at Fyllo, former administrative specialist at Crystal Stairs
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Koreatown • Age 42 • Full-time parent • Lives with Joseph (20), Jocelyn (18), Ryan (12), Anthony (7), Khloe (3); Grandson: Princeton (1)
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San Fernando Valley • Age 33 • Senior office technician for disability support services for LAUSD West Valley Occupational Center • Lives with Menard (husband), Francis (3), Mercia and Pedro (Menard’s parents)
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San Bernardino • Age 26 • Former Uber/Lyft driver • Lives with Edgar (husband), Ariel (3) and Delilah (2)
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Anaheim • Age 40 • Birth equity consultant and community health advocate • Lives with Carlvin, Jr. (husband), Carlvin III (8), Nalani (5) and Carlvin, Sr. (father-in-law); Blended family also includes Chantel (26) and Jaylen (21)
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South L.A. • Age 38 • Full-time parent and certified personal trainer • Lives with Cesario (husband), Hunter (1), Patricia (mother) and Chris (brother)
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Pico-Union • Age 35 • Full-time parent • Lives with Faustino (husband), Naín (10), Abimelec (8) and Melquisedec (1)
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San Fernando Valley • Age 53 • Freelance graphic designer • Lives with Jason (husband), Jackson (7) and Noah (5)
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Hawthorne • Mother, social worker and blogger living with lupus • Lives with Taj (8), Shelora (6), Ronn and Rome (3-year-old twins)
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Hawthorne • Age 42 • Freelance photographer • Lives with Leilani (19), Josh (15), Aliyah (13) and Hali'a (1)
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Koreatown • Age 45 • Restaurant sales • Lives with Hyunjung Kim (wife), Evelyn (9) and Amy (5)
Credits
Production & Curation
- Mariana Dale
- Jenny Lin
- Stefanie Ritoper
- Chava Sanchez
Editors
- Ashley Alvarado
- Dana Amihere
- Lisa Brenner
- Adriene Hill
- Tony Marcano
Design & Development
- Dana Amihere
- Jenny Lin
Translation & Interpretation
- Joshua Chang
- Nubia Perez
- Hugo Torres
Production Support
- Joshua Chang
- Caitlin Hernandez
- Giuliana Mayo
- Nubia Perez
- Sarah Pineda
- Daniela Rosales
Special Thanks To
Armory Center for the Arts, Community Coalition, CinnaMoms/WIC-PHFE, Crystal Stairs, El Nido Family Centers, Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), Los Angeles Education Partnership, Romondo Locke of the Los Angeles Public Library, Justin Sugiyama and the Los Angeles Public Library Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch, Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC), LA Best Babies Network, Raise a Child, Restaurant Opportunities Center - Los Angeles (ROC-LA)