Growing up in Minnesota, my family members were the only Hankersons I knew. When I joined Facebook, many years later, I connected to other Hankersons I would have otherwise never met. Upon further investigation, I learned that only a few thousand Hankersons lived in the United States. Yet, what surprised me the most was that the large majority of Hankersons are, unlike myself, of African descent. Many Hankersons can trace their lineage back to a plantation in South Carolina where the name Hankerson crossed the line that was once drawn between owner and owned. I started to take portraits of Hankersons and quickly became interested in why we share a last name and in how the Hankerson story relates to a defining National experience. What makes a family? Shared facial features? Shared experiences? A shared name? I invite the viewer to consider their own answers while viewing The Hankersons. I was fortunate to receive a 2012/13 Jerome Emerging Artist Fellowship and a 2013 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. This allowed me to hire an assistant for a six-week trip to Florida and Georgia to work on The Hankersons. I chose to ask MCAD MFA candidate Allison Bolah to assist me, because of the earnestness and diligence she had demonstrated during her internship at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where I work as a staff photographer. By the end of our road trip we were exhausted and exhilarated. The trip has certainly proven by now a success, one to which Allison was instrumental. Categories All