Spring 2022 Showcase Williams

Jai Williams

In My Grandmother’s Footsteps (short film)

This film looks at my centenarian grandmother’s garden in Mobile, Alabama. Her green thumb is no accident as her matrilineal bloodline is bountiful with a history of land ownership, gardening, and restorative energy. Spanning five generations, this project documents how gardening was and is essential to survival, particularly for African American families in the Deep South. The final cut of the film will include where she grew up as a child in southwestern Alabama, walking in the footsteps of the women who came before her. The blessing of being able to walk the land her family owns almost a century later is a testament to the power of familial ties and to the history of place. The purpose of this work is to create a dialogue about the lesser-known history of African American landowners throughout the South and to bring awareness to this seemingly forgotten lost practice and tradition.

Black Hands, Black Land (photography)

This body of work looks at African American land ownership in the northern Mississippi Hill Country through a series of photographs. The Hollowell Family have owned their estate, Foxfire Ranch, for over 100 years while witnessing the ever-changing landscape of Marshall County. A part of the small community in Waterford, Mississippi, Bill and Ann Hollowell continue to create a legacy that will inspire future generations. The purpose of this work is to create a dialogue about the lesser-known history of African American landowners throughout the South and to bring awareness to this seemingly forgotten lost practice and tradition. The Hollowell’s experience mirrors my own African American family’s tie to generational land ownership in the Deep South.

Jai is a southern photographer currently based in Mississippi. Bringing her clients’ vision to life through thoughtful and stimulating media. Jai specializes in culinary, travel, and cultural photography with a future interest in documentary projects. Publications such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Imbibe Magazine have featured her culinary work, while her travel photography has been used by both international and domestic tourism boards for digital and print campaigns. Jai was recently named as a Nathalie Dupree Fellow for the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) and looks forward to researching Black land ownership as well as documenting foodways throughout the South.