For Juneteenth, Rikkí Wright reclaims freedom, and herself, on film

In Rikkí Wright’s celebration of Juneteenth, the past and the present dance alongside each other — pointing toward a future filled with possibility. For Image, the photographer and filmmaker created a short film in commemoration of the holiday, a three-minute dedication to herself and her ancestors which she describes as “a meditation on the reclamation of one’s own freedom.” In it, vintage clips — including Maya Angelou reciting “The Mask” — are woven into scenes of celebration from the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival last week. “Juneteenth, a day my ancestors claimed as the day they recognized themselves as free,” writes Wright. “Not waiting on paper or man to validate that fact.”