Opening a dialogue: 'Free Our Flowers' sheds light on the false narratives about Blackness in New Mexico

Robert Washington-Vaughns believes everybody deserves flowers once in a while, especially Black men.

As founder of the Black Men Flower Project — a movement built around supporting and uplifting Black men while celebrating beauty and the concept of masculinity — Washington-Vaughns understands the power of mental health, which is why he is holding the “Free Our Flowers” photo exhibition at Santa Fe Community Gallery to spread his message of reframing Black masculinity.

Opening a dialogue: 'Free Our Flowers' sheds light on the false narratives about Blackness in New Mexico

“I was raised in this hustle culture where you get a good job, get a nice car and have a nice house and after doing all those things, I was still depressed,” he said. “It led me to spend three months in intensive group therapy for my depression and suicidal ideation, so that’s how I kind of got into the project, mainly.”

After spending time in group therapy, Washington-Vaughns decided to put his energy into his creative process and realized he was drawn to the idea of flowers and the representations they have.

He decided to start giving free flowers to Black men and other underserved communities across the nation, and the idea transformed into a creative photograph series that displays the stories and corrects false narratives about Black men in New Mexico — where only 2.8% of people across the state are Black — in the hopes of shedding light on the stories in New Mexico that might otherwise be overlooked.

“This show focuses on the narrative, the false narratives and the truths within those false narratives of eight different Black men and boys living in New Mexico,” Washington-Vaughns said. “So it’s a way of us, kind of giving these stories perspectives away for free as well.”

Washington-Vaughns reached out to varying age groups around New Mexico to ask what is one misconception people typically have about them.

One participant, a young 13-year-old, said he wanted to be a rocket scientist, but people don’t believe in his dreams because he is homeschooled. To depict the struggle, the boy and his father built a replica jetpack and Washington-Vaughns added flowers that would come out of the jetpack.

In another photograph, Trey Pickett — owner of the NM Black Cat Cultural Enterprise — is depicted. His false narrative is themed around his appearance, as Pickett is a tall, strong man who also is classically trained in ballet, breaking the stereotype that men cannot participate in something that is considered feminine.

“We’re kind of reclaiming these false narratives to kind of project them in a new light and so with him, it was this balancing act right, not just literally but figuratively, so for that, we did a sort of shield to show that balancing act that he has to have of being good enough but also being careful enough as well,” Washington-Vaughns said.

Washington-Vaughns hopes that the exhibition is important and thoughtful for everyone, not just Black men.

“I hope this helps reframe what masculinity looks like as a whole, and what Blackness looks like in New Mexico,” Washington-Vaughns added. “I hope it opens dialogue and people’s interpersonal relationship with their co-workers, their friends, or even people that they just might pass in the street, to not just assume that this person is nothing or worthless, that they have a whole unit. Everyone’s like a walking universe.”