BECAUSE OF YOU: LEGACY IN FOCUS

A Because of Them We Can × Most Incredible Studio Composition

IDENTITY

THE ORIGIN STORY

The camera has always been more than a tool in Black hands. It has been an act of resistance, an instrument of self-definition, and a way to say we were here. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Black stories were ignored or distorted by the mainstream, pioneers like James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks picked up cameras and pointed them at the truth. They photographed the dignity of everyday life, the brilliance of Black culture in its full complexity, and the beauty that the rest of the world refused to see. Their images were more than art. They were archives, records of a people who insisted on documenting their own existence.

By the mid 20th century, photography became a cornerstone of the movement. The images of the Civil Rights era told stories that words alone could not carry: protestors demanding justice, families breaking barriers, communities organizing for a future they could see, even when nobody else could. Those photographs became symbols of courage and collective strength. And the tradition continues today in the family albums cherished across generations, in the murals of Black icons lighting up cityscapes, and in the digital galleries where modern storytellers like Cheriss May, Adrian Octavius Walker, Jamaica Gilmer, Eva Woolridge, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Karl Ferguson Jr., Faith Couch, Joshua Taylor, Rochelle Brock, and Danielle A. Scruggs are redefining what it means to capture Black life through a lens.

Because of You: Legacy In Focus was created by Most Incredible Studio and Because of Them We Can to make that tradition tangible. BOTWC, the Internet’s most inspiring platform for Black history and excellence, was founded by Eunique Jones Gibson in 2013 with a photo series that featured children reimagined as iconic Black history figures. A decade later, those same children, now teenagers and young adults, are reflecting on what it meant to step into those roles and how those moments shaped their identities. For its 10th anniversary, BOTWC partnered with MIS to translate the power of Black photography into a 539-piece brick-built composition: a vintage camera paired with a classic photo frame, two objects that represent the act of seeing, preserving, and displaying the stories that define who we are.

The composition dropped during Black History Month 2025, at a moment when Black history is actively under attack in schools and legislatures across the country. This was not a coincidence. As Syreeta Gates put it: “So much of our work exists as ephemera, fleeting moments captured in time. This campaign ensures that Black legacy, seen through the lens of the camera, will endure physically and permanently.” The collaboration also included Photography Card Bundles featuring legendary Black creatives from the BOTWC archive across three curated sets: The Storytellers (writers, photographers, filmmakers like Gordon Parks, Maya Angelou, and Spike Lee), The Culture & Creativity Set (musicians, visual artists like Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Jean-Michel Basquiat), and The Legacy Set (historical figures and activists like Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, and Madam C.J. Walker). Alongside the drop, Syreeta wrote an original series of ten interviews with contemporary Black photographers for the BOTWC site, creating a living editorial archive that extended the composition’s mission beyond the brick.

THE BUILD

FROM THE CULTURE: BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERVIEW SERIES

As part of the Because of You: Legacy In Focus campaign, Syreeta Gates wrote and conducted an original series of ten interviews with contemporary Black photographers for the Because of Them We Can site. This editorial work extended the composition’s mission into a living archive of Black visual storytelling, profiling the artists who carry the tradition forward today. These interviews should be linked on the archive page as companion pieces to the composition record.

Adrian Octavius Walker - Meet Adrian Octavius Walker, the Photographer Whose Impact Extends From Ferguson to the Smithsonian

Joshua Taylor - Meet Joshua Taylor, the Photographer Spotlighting Chicago, Creativity, and the Power of Everyday Stories

Rochelle Brock - Meet Rochelle Brock, the Photographer Expanding Representation in Fashion and Beauty

Danielle A. Scruggs - Meet Danielle A. Scruggs, the Photographer Amplifying Everyday Black Life Through Digital Archives

Jamaica Gilmer - Meet Jamaica Gilmer, the Visionary Using Photography to Galvanize Black Women and Girls

Karl Ferguson Jr. - Meet Karl Ferguson Jr., the Photographer Capturing Black Legacy One Portrait at a Time

Faith Couch - Meet Faith Couch, the Photographer Transforming the Way We See Black Love

Eva Woolridge - Meet Eva Woolridge, the Award-Winning Photographer Using Her Lens to Reclaim Power, Joy, & Identity

Cheriss May - Meet Cheriss May, the D.C. Based Photographer Capturing History-Shaping Moments in Every Frame

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn - Meet Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, the Award-Winning Portrait Photographer Documenting the Diaspora With Power & Purpose

All interviews are published on becauseofthemwecan.com

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Because of Them We Can (BOTWC) — Founded by Eunique Jones Gibson in 2013. The Internet’s most inspiring platform for Black history and excellence, celebrating all things positive about the culture and connecting a new generation to the heroes who paved the way. becauseofthemwecan.com

The BOTWC Photo Campaign (2013) — The original Because of Them We Can campaign featured children photographed as iconic Black history figures, honoring the leaders and changemakers who paved the way. A decade later, many of those children, now teenagers and young adults, reflected on their experiences as part of this collaboration.

Black Photography as Archive — The tradition of Black photographers using the camera as a tool for self-documentation, cultural preservation, and resistance, from James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks through Jamel Shabazz, Lorna Simpson, Chi Modu, Dana Scruggs, Tyler Mitchell, and the contemporary artists profiled in the campaign’s interview series.

Press 

     BOTWC & Most Incredible Studio Unveil New LEGO Set Honoring Black History (February 27, 2025)

     BOTWC & Most Incredible Studio Expands LEGO Set to Highlight the Legacy of Black Photographers (March 14, 2025)