Kara Barnett of Netflix’s Strong Black Lead discusses the legacy of storytelling through imagery

By Diedre Johnson

What happens to a dream that isn’t deferred? Strong Black Lens, a six-episode YouTube series, answers this question by bringing more than a dozen Black photographers, cinematographers and other creatives together, including Kwaku Alston, Devin Allen, Dana Scruggs, Karl Ferguson, Tolani Alli, Erik Carter and Jamel Shabazz, to discuss the past, present and future of Black photography and some of their most iconic images.

Kara Barnett, Strong Black Lead’s Creative Development and Production Lead, is the mastermind behind this project. Her job entails creating content for the channel, including Strong Black Lens, that is engaging and informative about Netflix and caters to Black audiences. In an interview with Tudum, Barnett discussed how this important project, released during Black History Month, came to be.

After reading this interview, be sure to check out Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 and Episode 6 of Strong Black Lens on YouTube.

Owning Our Image | Strong Black Lens S1E1 Thumbnail Image

Owning Our Image | Strong Black Lens S1E1

How did Strong Black Leadcome about, and how did you become involved with the project

Black history is something Strong Black Lead lives every day. It’s creating content that celebrates Black people and how we contribute to culture. When we talk about Black History Month, we make sure that we’re mindful about it. How do we keep it fresh when we’re creating content for this audience? It’s such a responsibility to make sure that we’re entertaining and educating our audiences while being respectful and reflective of them. So we’re always looking for ways to expand the conversation.

I came up with Strong Black Lens early last year because storytelling is a major part of what we do. Storytelling is Netflix’s thing, so we just looked at an additive way of getting into that conversation. When it comes to visual storytelling, photography predates films, so it really is a conversation that can go hand in hand. I’m passionate about photography. I love great visuals and imagery. **Photography is all around us in our lives **. There are photographers on Netflix film sets. That’s the nature of photographers — to blend into the background, get the moment and then give you the moment. So we’re celebrating these storytellers because they help create iconic moments.

Inline Image: ‘Strong Black Lens’ Elevates Black Photographers Inline Image 2 — Erik Carter

Did you know any of the photographers featured in Strong Black Lens before creating the project?

I was very familiar with many of the photographers, especially those who work closely with Netflix, such as Kwaku Alston, who shot Strong Black Lead’s Great Day in Hollywood portrait and David Lee, who is a unit photographer on many of our film sets. But it was a collaborative project. We worked with Kerry Laster and production company FATSHIBA to create this. Kerry and I connected early last year and spent months just talking through the tone of the project: What were the topics we wanted to talk about? Who did he know? Who did I like? What did he like? I asked associates and other fans of photography, “Hey, which photographers do you like? Who do you follow on social media?” Because it wasn’t just about who I thought was cool. It was really about bringing together different perspectives that you wouldn’t normally see in the same room.

We could do this project 10 times over and never feature all the accomplished and amazing Black photographers who exist. So we said, okay, what’s a combination of perspectives that we haven’t seen before, that you probably won’t see again and that has something for everyone to hold on to? Renowned photographer Kwaku Alston, for instance, might approach his photography very differently from Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen. Some of the photographers in the roundtable went to photography school; some of them didn’t. Finding those nuanced and interesting perspectives was the driving force. What’s the conversation that we can give to our audience that they may not get anywhere else?

Finding Our Light | Strong Black Lens S1E2 Thumbnail Image

Finding Our Light | Strong Black Lens S1E2

Where did you shoot Strong Black Lens?

We shot multiple days in Los Angeles and one day in NYC. I want to send a shout-out to Pili Weeber, the set designer, and Juanita Holmes, the art director, who designed and built that lightbox table [background design for the set] and that green wall behind the chair. We constructed the set from scratch and then made a whole new one in New York to match it. The team is amazing.

Why is this project so important at this time?

Sometimes, the only thing we have left of the people who are gone are the times and the memories. We take them for granted, and then they’re gone. That’s the reason photography is so important; you can hold on to your legacy through those photographed memories. There was a time where we, as a culture, weren’t allowed to have legacy moments, memories, last names. So this is a beautiful way of celebrating who we are and our narratives, told our way. There are so many people who have this wealth of knowledge and we never think to ask them until they’re gone. We wanted to make sure that we’re celebrating those who are making history now. We want to sit them down to tell their story before it’s too late, before we lose the ability to do so.

Inline Image: ‘Strong Black Lens’ Elevates Black Photographers Inline Image 4 — Devin Allen

What are key takeaways for aspiring photographers or others interested in photography?

The photographers in the documentary offer amazing advice. Please watch Episode 6 because it’s literally devoted to giving advice to emerging photographers. While photography isn’t a team sport, there’s strength in mentorship, so find your people who will support you and educate you. In Episode 4, we talk about the importance of understanding the business and the licensing. It helps when you have people to advise you and guide you, so build that community out. The photographers in the doc are super accessible and inspiring, and they want to help others.

A lot of photographers have said, “I wish Strong Black Lens existed when I was younger. I wish there was a project like this to show me what others went through and just give me some kind of resource.” It’s great that we can inspire a new generation of storytellers.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Get to know some of the photographers of Strong Black Lens in these exclusive interviews for Tudum!

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‘Strong Black Lens’ Elevates Black Photographers