Black History March: A Project By Anthony Bila

Always on our radar, JHB photographer Anthony Bila aka The Expressionist joined forces last month with recent Namibian fashion blogstar Loux The Vintage Guru on Black History March. Shot in Joburg's Alexandra, Bila's photos (above) capture the Love Is African collective (itself a collaboration between Loux the Vintage Guru and Joburg creative ensemble Khumbula), posing in vintage three piece suits and fedoras in an "ode to black history." Black History March, with its atmospheric sepia tone textures and powerful gazes, celebrates 60s style and the power of looking back, whilst embodying a critique on the brevity of Black History month. On why the series launched after Black History Month actually occurred, Bila explained:

"I purposefully launched this project a month after the Black History Month actually occurred, it’s traditionally held in February but I wanted to dispel the notion that black history needs a ‘special month’, the shortest month of all no less, dedicated to it as commemoration and remembrance of the rich incredibly vast history of Africa and it's peoples. My thoughts about black history are that it should be venerated just as any other significant part of history is, at every given opportunity. The name of the series is a double entendre. March being the month we are in and march in the sense that we soldier on, as a people moving forward but never forgetting to reflect and look back at where we have come from. Something I believe we should all do, regardless."

Black History March is the first in Anthony Bila's ongoing series commemorating various time periods in African history through words, motion picture and still photography. Take a look at the gallery above and find out more about the project here.