2025 SDN Visual Storytelling Festival Speaker Series

Celebrating Black History Month with a panel on
Black Birth

Thursday, February 27, 7:00 pm ET via Zoom

Artist talk with photographers Brian Branch-Price and Benita Mayo 
   Featured in the Fall 2024 issue of ZEKE Magazine
Special Guest Jennie Joseph 
   One of the world’s most respected authorities on maternal health
Moderated by Lisa DuBois

Chloe has arrived after four short hours of labor. Michaela is surrounded by her husband Zach Holmes, son, mother, mother-in-law, and sister. Michaela was determined to create the birth experience she wanted which included being surrounded by family and friends. Photo by Benita Mayo.

Social Documentary Network pays tribute to the legacy of Black photographic excellence. In 2025, the importance of Black photographers telling their own stories has never been greater. As we come to the end of Black History Month, we proudly celebrate the contributions of Benita Mayo and Brian Branch Price for excellence in documentary photographic storytelling. Their work transcends the act of capturing moments—it serves as a lens through which histories are preserved and cultures are honored. These images provoke thought, inspire action, and stand as a testament to the enduring power of photography to shape how we see the world from the perspective of those who have lived it. Through their photography, Benita Mayo and Brian Branch Price illuminate narratives that might otherwise be overlooked, ensuring that Black voices and experiences are not just seen but truly understood.

This panel will explore the love and respect for Black women during childbirth but also bear witness to the stark racial disparities in maternal health care in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women in the United States have the highest maternal mortality rate that is approximately two to three times higher than that of White women. Research confirms that while holding other factors constant– such as income and education–the root of the problem is the racialization of the treatment of Black women during pregnancy and birth. With Black women lacking access, agency, and resources to maternal health care, Benita Mayo and Brian Branch-Price will talk about the Black birth experience – a story that often goes untold.

Brian Branch-Price

Brian Branch-Price is a native of Plainfield, New Jersey and a Howard University graduate with a degree in geology and fine arts photography. Brian is an American photographer and photo editor whose career has ranged from photojournalism to commissioned fine arts projects. Brian's methodology has evolved to employ a traditional documentary/reportage approach that allows for his subjective interpretation of the subject. 

 His career as a photojournalist began at The Hilltop (Howard University) as wells a freelancer for The Washington Post. He has accumulated five photo internships then later staffing for the Trenton Times (Trenton, NJ), The News Journal (Wilmington, DE) , the Associated Press, Public Sqaure Amplified and Zuma Press Images. 

Brian was selected as a Department of Defense Embed for the Iraq War for AP.  His work includes reportage on Obataan Mobilization, an orphanage in Ghana, January 6 riots, Super Bowl, World Series, and world cycling championships. 

His current project, “The Original Cowboy, An American Institution” takes a deep dive into the Black Cowboy Culture. Other projects include Black maternal and infant mortality rates, vanishing communities, Major Taylor Legacies, BLM, Black Gospel legends, and The Kalmar Nickel (the building of the Pirates of the Caribbean ship). Other accomplishments: Leica stories at BH event space, ASMP member spotlight, Atlanta photojournalism seminar faculty, Photoville, Yunghi Grant, NABJ Salute of Excellence, and a National Headliner awards. 

Benita Mayo
Benita Mayo is a visual artist based in Charlottesville, VA. She is an  active member of the Charlottesville Black Arts Collective and a resident artist at the McGuffey Art Center. Mayo holds a B.A. in Rhetoric & Communications from the University of Virginia (UVA), and she was a fellow-in-residence at the UVA Equity Center creating a photo essay highlighting the pregnancy risks that Black women face in the US and the positive benefits of doula support.  Mayo is drawn to the collective female experience, as seen through the lens of a Black woman living in the intersection of grief, memory, ancestry genealogy, and trauma.

Mayo was the winner in the 23rd Julia Margaret Cameron Award for "Women Seeing Women" category.  Mayo’s work has been featured in publications including ZEKE Magazine, CubaSeen, Virginia Quarterly Review, Canvas Rebel, Portraits The 27 Fine Art Book, A Smith Gallery, SxSE Magazine, Library of Congress, C-Ville Weekly 434 Magazine, and Charlottesville Tomorrow. Her work has been exhibited at various galleries including the Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins CO,) A Smith Gallery, Filter Photo, Social Documentary Network, Welcome Gallery, Second Street Gallery, Studio IX, Academy Center of the Arts, the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, Artspace Herndon, MidAtlantic Photo Visions, Washington School of Photography and her work has been recognized internationally and in private collections.

Jennie Joseph

Jennie Joseph, a British-trained midwife, has become one of the world’s most respected authorities on maternal health, healthy pregnancies, healthy deliveries, healthy postpartum, and healthy babies. She’s become a true advocate for systematic reform that puts women, babies and families first in healthcare—before profit, convenience, and numerous societal reasons causes America to trail other developed nations in safe maternity care.

Jennie’s common sense approach and consistently better outcomes have won her the attention of global news media and brought her invitations to speak all over the world.

Jennie is the founder and president of Commonsense Childbirth Inc. and the creator of The JJ Way®, a common sense methodology designed to support the childbearing population and the people who care for them. She moved to the United States in 1989 and began a journey that has culminated in the formation of this innovative maternal child healthcare system, markedly improving birth outcomes for thousands of women and babies, especially those in what she calls ‘materno-toxic zones’ in the USA.

Lisa DuBois
Photo Editor and Diversity Advisory, Social Documentary Network
 

Lisa DuBois is an ethnographic photojournalist and curator. Her photography explores subcultures within mainstream society, expressing the search for meaning through environments, belief systems, and traditions. Sutton Gallery in New Orleans has presented Lisa's series on Black subculture, showcasing her strong respect for history and tradition. Her work has been exhibited both globally and domestically, with exhibitions at the Wallach Art Triennial, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Gordon Parks Museum, and Photoville. She has appeared on interviews with Bronx Net, NOLA TV, The New York Times, and the Guardian magazine. Lisa received a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts, as well as a degree in Metaphysical Science from the University of Metaphysics. Her honors include a BRIO grant for photography, the Harlem Arts Fellowship, the En Foco Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Community Works N.Y.C. Lisa curated for Save Art Space and Art on the Avenue, both large-scale public art spaces. Her work has appeared in ZEKE magazine, Routes, and Edge of Humanity, including Getty Images and Loupe Art TV. She is a photo editor and diversity advisor for the Social Documentary Network.

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