Day In The Life of America

Retired poultry inspector Elizabeth Carey and her 16-month-old great-granddaughter, Brandy Rowden, at the social barbeque before a Ku Klux Klan cross-burning ceremony at a property near Flowery Branch, about 70 kilometres from Atlanta, Georgia. In 1986, Gerrit was invited to participate in the ‘Day In The Life of America’ project and assigned to cover activities of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in rural Georgia. When the book was published, the publishers received hate mail and threats from both supporters and those opposed to the KKK. The image was again published in 2017 in ‘The Good Fight: America’s Ongoing Struggle For Justice.’

Biography:
Beginning in 1975, Gerrit Fokkema was a staff photographer with The Canberra Times. He later joined The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper and then the Good Weekend weekly magazine before leaving in 1987 to pursue a freelance career. During that time and to the present day, he has engaged in documentary projects that have led to the publication of a book, 'Wilcannia, Portrait of an Australian Town', and numberous solo and group exhibitions. His work is represented in the collections of the Australian National Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW), State Library of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria.