Through Faisa's lens: Why this photographer takes photos of Black youth across the city

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When Faisa Omer switches on the bright lights and turns her camera on her subject, she knows the power of her lens to highlight the good, the badand the stories of those who step into her spotlight.

The 31-year-old photographer and mental health counsellor says she was blown away by the response to her first major photography project, which shed light on theracismher brother and his friends had experiencedgrowing up Black in Ottawa community housing.

That led to gallery exposure and Omer's photos being put on display in the mayor's office, as well asher decision to expand the project across other communities across Ottawa, which she and videographer Hersi Osman documented for CBC Ottawa's Creator Network.

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Only this time, Omerdecided to focus not just on thechallenges and difficulties faced by Black youth, but also what makes them proud.

"Sometimes the trauma we go through kind of becomes who we are. That's what[people]see, what they remember," explained Omer.

Telling that complicated story through images has become the photographer's goal.

"We're more than just these negative experiences that occur to us. We also have joy, we're complex, just like other people, right?I wanted to showcase that and their hopes and dreams instead of just the negative side of the spectrum."

Rooted in Ritchie

Omer's first project startedin the summer of 2020, when she asked her brother Abdullah, then 17, and his friendsto pose in her family's Ritchie Street basement.

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She posted the photosto Instagram alongside the first-person stories they'd shared of their experiences being Black and growing up in a neighbourhood that's often in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Ittouched a nerve.

"One of the main sentiments that I felt from the community was how these stories were important. These photos had the power to change minds and attitudes towardsBlack people," she said, adding she couldn't keep up with the outpouring of messages of support.

For her, it seemed natural to keep going.

After garnering a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, she decided to take the idea to three more neighbourhoods Lowertown, Michele Heights and Overbrook, basing her operations in each area'scommunity house, hoping that would help young peoplefeel comfortable and safe to share.

On camera, participants opened up on everything from what it's like to have your photo taken, to how to respond when you're repeatedly asked, "Where are you from?"

Shaunette Simon opted to share a message for the next generation.

"My hope is that my grandkids will be able to come into this world and be able to be kids ... and not fear thatthey're going to prejudged and thingsare going tobe denied to them because of the colour of their skin, something that they can't change."

Omer says she wassurprised and saddened by the difficult stories she heard,including one woman's experience of suffering a brutal beating at 16during her first year in Canada, which resulted in herlosing a year of school, and what it felt like to learn later on that the case had been dropped.

Osman also said he was surprised by the depth of pain their subjects shared.

"They were tellingpersonal stories about their first encounter with police," he said."They got pretty deep in terms of their responses of what it means to be Black."

He said he expected the 12-year-oldsto care more about what they had for lunchor the activities at the Boys and Girls Club, but they all had their own experiences to add.

"They're not as sheltered as we thought they were," Osman said.

Timing in Lowertown

There were particularly difficult moments in Lowertown, where the scheduled photography session happened shortly after a shooting in front of the community house where an 18-year-old was killed.

• 1 man dead, another injured in Lowertown shooting
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Omer says it became an opportunityfor people in that neighbourhood to talk and sharewhat that feelslike.

"I was thinking, this is when the community wants their voice heard," she said. "Let me see what this neighbourhood wants the rest of Ottawa to know about them right now."

As a psychotherapist, Omersays the sessions became not just about the photos, but also helping the youth process a traumatic event and validate their feelings about it.

"You have tostop andgive them that respect .. that eye contact while they're speaking,'I can't believe that happened,I'm sorry,'" she explained, adding that hearing those stories was hard on her, too, buttalking it over with her siblings always helped.

Still, Omer says she came away from the projectseeing the pride the youthhad in their neighbours and communities a sentiment echoed by Osman.

"There's a lot of bad press when it comes to certain neighbourhoods in the city and people don't see the positive side of it," he said. "This was something that was going to shed light on neighbourhoods that don't really get the limelight that they deserve."

New home, new job

Since wrapping up this project,Omer has started a new chapter of her life. In January, she began a new job as acounsellor at Carleton University.

Her family also movedto a newly built home in Findlay Creek this May, with enough room for their parents and all seven siblings,six of whom are over 20 a bittersweet changefor Omer.

"I feel like if you live somewhere for more than two decades, it definitely becomes part of your identity," she said.

"I'm proud to be from Ritchie, and all the other neighbourhoods that I grew up in, because it made me who I am today."