GARY CHAMBERS
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND PUBLISHER OF THE ROUGE COLLECTION
Gary Chambers Jr. spits fire.
It’s the first thing you’ll notice about the 31-year-old, and the thing that stays with you long after you’ve spoken to him. As an unapologetic activist for his community, he fears nothing and no one. Ask him anything, and he’ll give an answer more honest and profound than you were ever prepared for.
While the flames of his words burn in their truthfulness, they are necessary for that same reason—truth. For four years, Chambers has published The Rouge Collection, a media platform where he and other writers promote discussion and report on issues plaguing the African-American community in north Baton Rouge. His activism in the aftermath of the police killing of Alton Sterling caught the attention of The New York Times and Wired magazine, both of which interviewed him. With his advocacy for the voiceless, he is a lit match in their darkness. therougecollection.net
Click the thumbnails below to enlarge each photo in the gallery:
On Alton Sterling:
“Baton Rouge has had its dirty underwear shown to the nation now, and the sad part is, we still ain’t cleaning them. But, as black people, we’ve been hearing these stories all our lives. The only difference is technology, which now allows you to experience murder with a front-row seat. With Alton Sterling, we saw a man tasered, tackled, put on the ground with knees in his chest and a gun in his face, and then shot in the chest five times and after a pause, three more rounds are fired into his chest. You see the blood pump out of a man’s chest and his hand shake as you see the life leave his body. When you see crystal clear a man’s life end before you, it forces you to deal with the discrimination, agony and turmoil in our community in a way that you were able to dismiss before because you didn’t see it with your own eyes.”
On keeping hope alive:
“I’ve got a 6-year-old daughter, and every morning, I take her to school and watch her blow me a kiss as she walks into the building. I have a responsibility to make a better world for her. As long as there’s a generation coming behind us that will be better than us, there is hope.”
HOW TO:
Become an effective activist in your community
“You have to be unafraid, unapologetic and honest about everything that you do. You’re going to have people who are naysayers and don’t support your cause. You’re going to have people twist every word you’ve said. The critics are louder than the supporters, but remember, there are more supporters.”
This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
