PhotoNOLA: Abdul Aziz: Ironton

PhotoNOLA: Abdul Aziz: Ironton by Daniel GeorgeMarch 4, 2022

This week we are sharing some of our discoveries from the PhotoNOLA Reviews, an annual celebration of photography in New Orleans.

Abdul Aziz is a New Orleans-based photojournalist whose project, Ironton, documents a small Louisiana community still living with the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida in August 2021. The town, established in the 1800’s by freed slaves, was subjected to a storm surge that seriously damaged nearly all resident’s homes, and the local church. At the time of this writing, seven months later, the cleanup effort is still underway. Aziz’s photographs depict a people of resolve—a tight knit group who has faced, and continues to face, the effects of environmental racism. While their plight is representative of many other communities at risk of severe weather events, it reminds us of the importance of a unified response toward climate change—particularly when it comes to aiding those disproportionally hurt by its effects.

Abdul Aziz, a freelance New Orleans-based photojournalist brings a rich background of chronicling imagery of global communities, from the Middle East to Africa, Asia, and the United States to his work. He has worked in documentary filmmaking worldwide for over 2 decades chronicling social issues related to race, exploitation of indigenous cultures, and unfair labor practices. His most recent work has focused on the resurgence of White Supremacy in the United States and the Movement for Black Lives. He was recently named Documentary Photographer of the year by The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and is a contributor to publications such as the New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Ironton

Ironton, Louisiana is an unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The historic African American community was built by the enslaved peoples emancipated from the Rosalie Plantation in the years following the end of the Civil War. Since then the community has faced an uphill battle in a Parish that historically been run by those who have little interest in seeing Ironton thrive. The town did not have running water until 1980 due to parish politicians unwillingness to aid the community. Judge Leander Perez, a staunch segregationist and known racist, was Plaquemines Parish president at the height of the Civil Rights era. Though Ironton is just a 45 minute drive from Downtown New Orleans it is an often forgotten community that continues to struggle to rebuild.