SOE senior found a way to make summer break more meaningful
Destyni Kuhns-Gray, a senior majoring in early education, spent the summer documenting Black Lives Matter protests.
By VCU News staff, vcunews@vcu.edu
Friday, Aug. 28, 2020
Below is an excerpt from a University Public Affairs story. A link to the complete article is at the bottom of this page.
It was a summer full of uncertainties — particularly for college students. Can I get an internship? Will my summer job fall through? What activities are safe for me to do? Will my classes be online in the fall? How can I support my community during uncertain times? But despite the question marks and challenges, Virginia Commonwealth University students were able to make the most of a most unusual summer thanks to their creativity, passion and hard work.
Destyni Kuhns-Gray, a School of Education senior majoring in early education and an amateur photographer, spent the summer documenting Black Lives Matter protests.
“When I began going to the protests, I wanted to capture people’s raw emotions,” she said. “Everyone had many different emotions: grief, anger, confusion, happiness, etc. and I focused on portraiture and I thought it would be great to capture people’s raw emotions.”
Kuhns-Gray, who shares her photos on Instagram, said her summer experiences were life changing.
“We are watching and participating in moments of history,” she said. “When I look back on my summer, I’ll remember the first time I went out until now and how different it was. Listening to speakers, advocates and people who have been personally terrorized and brutalized is an eye-opener.”
Among the photos she took this summer, her favorite is of the Robert E. Lee monument covered in graffiti. “I think all of the artwork on it is amazing to look at. I look at pictures I took of it when it was bare to now and it’s just amazing to see the progression. Even to this day, every time I go to Marcus-David Peters Circle I feel like there is even more things on it than last time,” she said.
When someone checks out her photography from this summer, Kuhns-Gray wants them to understand that the people depicted are real people trying to bring about a more just society.
“These are real images, and people’s genuine emotions and feelings,” she said. “This is an extremely important moment in history and I am extremely lucky to be able to document it.”
Kuhns-Gray’s photography has been garnering notice. It was highlighted in a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch article that also ran in The Washington Post. And she was recently interviewed by RVA Magazine.
Following graduation from VCU, Kuhns-Gray plans to work as an elementary special education teacher. In one way or another, she said, photography also lies in her future.
“I am honestly just seeing what happens from here and will continue to shoot and seek out new opportunities,” she said.