The image, shared by
Nas’ team Thursday night, is a photo of several black children lined up against a brick wall with their hands above their heads. One of the kids is holding a toy robot, while others are wielding what we assume are toy guns. The image was captured by renowned photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark, as part of a 1988 feature called
The War Zone by reporter Jim Atkinson. The story explored the disadvantaged neighborhood of South Dallas, where drugs, violence, and poverty were a part of everyday life.
“Ten years ago this was a working-class neighborhood; now criminals dominate the area,” Atkinson wrote in the story. “Kids learn to play by watching the police, prostitutes work to support their habit, and families try desperately to stay together.”
Mark’s photography has been showcased in exhibits and galleries across the world. She has also been featured in publications such as
Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and
Life. In 2003, she won the Lucie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Photography and was given the Outstanding Contribution Photography Award from the World Photography Organisation in 2014, about a year before she died at the age of 75.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....es-the-history-behind-nas-cover-art-for-nasir
