Meet Yvonne Simms | The Black Family Photo Album

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yvonne Simms and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yvonne, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been photographing and filming families for over 10 years, but the images I love the most are the ones with several generations together. A grandmother with her grandchild. Three generations of men. This past year, I launched The Black Family Photo Album to help black families across the African Diaspora document their legacy. The experience is customized for each family, with the goal of bringing together multiple generations to document our stories beautifully in photographs and videos, so that we can preserve our story for future generations.

As a 35 year old black millennial mother (I have 3 children, ages 7,6, and 3), I am aware that our generation is now the bridge between our children and the elders in our family. As our parents and grandparents age, every family gathering is precious. Every reunion, every Sunday dinner, every holiday, and every family vacation, is an opportunity for our children to create memories with generations that will eventually transition. It’s important for us millennials to intentionally create opportunities for our children to know and learn from their elders.

Specifically, for black families, we are now blessed with the opportunity to frame our own narratives, and preserve family history. We haven’t always had that opportunity. What better way to document your family’s legacy- to transmit the stories and wisdom from the past- than to capture photos and videos of multiple generations together.

Our generation is intentionally about changing the narrative of how our families function by breaking generational curses and building generational wealth. I also want to ensure that the wisdom and stories of our family elders are passed down to our children and the generations to come.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I like to think of myself a mix between Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets Anthony Bourdain. My work with The Black Family Photo Album is really a culmination of my interests, my art and creativity, my professional journey and my life experiences.

I’ve always been intrigued by history and culture, particularly by African culture in its various forms across the diaspora. I earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology and during college, I studied abroad in Senegal, Ghana, St. Vincent, and Barbados. I made sure to spend time in places with black people, learning about cultural connections across the African Diaspora. In Senegal, I learned about griots, travelling historians who went from village to village re-telling stories. African culture is rich in oral tradition, and the work I create allows us to continue that tradition. Not only do I get to sit at the feet of elders and collect stories, but I also get to connect the dots about the shared experiences of black people globally. With The Black Family Photo Album, I get the opportunity to sit down with black families and become deeply entrenched in their history. I get to help families connect and recollect in a more intentional way. I ask families to bring momentos and old photos to help them remember their past and recall stories. Oftentimes, these moments happen naturally during family reunions or gatherings, but this time, these stories are documented and preserved.

Also, I’m the first generation daughter of a two immigrant parents from Sierra Leone so I’ve always felt like I’ve been a conduit of cultures, as well as a bridge of sorts. On Sunday afternoons, as a child, my father would cook traditional dishes like cassava leaves or groundnut soup and begin to tell stories about growing up in Freetown. When the stories got good, he’d break out old photo albums. I remember looking at those images and feeling connected to the people in them, even though most, I’d never meet or know. It was his way of remembering and that passing down our family story, and for that I am grateful.

I’m an educator by trade. In the early part of my career, I taught secondary English and African American history in Philadelphia. Eventually, I ventured into higher education where I led operations and partnerships with school districts and charter management organizations nationwide. Operating this business, I get to flex my creative muscles, as well as use my skills as a project manager. Working to prepare each family is it’s own production, so there are workflows, systems, and processes that must tight on the back end to ensure the quality of the final films or photos. I never shy away from using the tools from my more traditional profession (for example, show flows and project plans) to keep me and my clients organized.

I think the toughest thing about doing this is believing in my own vision enough to put it out into the world consistently. This is heart work, but it’s also a business, so I often struggle between creating and converting. Everything is content, right? I’m not yet convinced of that and I’ve been struggling to fit what seems like a really big vision into 90 second, bite-sized, clips. These are people’s life stories. This is deeper than that. WE are deeper than that. This work is heartfelt and time-consuming because each family is unique, and I want to honor that in the way I share it with the world. What keeps me going is knowing the gift this will be to generations to come.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely. I want to shout out my husband, Ron. We’ve known each other for 16 years and have been married for 9 (we met on MySpace and he slid in my DM’s before there were DM’s!). Before I switched into full-time photography, I was an educator and he has always encouraged me to pursue my creativity. As a creative entrepreneur, there have been multiple iterations of my business, but he’s never made me feel ashamed for trying to figure things out. In fact, he’s a serial entrepreneur himself, so he understands the ebbs and flows of business, including the not-so-glam portions that no one likes to discuss or share publicly. This man is consistent and puts in the work even after taking hits and losses because he’s dedicated to establishing a legacy for our children and family. I respect his work ethic and his vision inspires me every single day.

Website: www.theblackfamilyphotoalbum.com

Instagram: theyvonnesimms

Facebook: www.facebook.com/blackfamilyphotoalbum

Image Credits
Yvonne Simms for The Black Family Photo Album