How a Disney Experience Caused This Black Photographer to Show Black Men Love

To be gifted, a person must have exceptional talent or natural ability. Jaimie Milner knows this to be true. The photographer, entrepreneur, artist, and author has recently released her coffee-table book Gifted. In the book, Milner set out to encourage Black men through unseen images, raw unfiltered full-length interviews and thought-provoking perspectives. Gifted showcases the voice of Black men today. Featured in the book are remarkable men in the arts, business, politics, and finance, including Kris Bowers, David Oyelowo, Michael Strautmanis, Hisham Tawfiq, Chris Lyons, Nate Parker, Dean Garfield and Steven Caple Jr.

“I didn’t see people like my father and friends reflected anywhere in the media,” said Milner about her latest coffee table book. “I wanted to show that these men exist. Black men who cared, and who were smart.” The book features 40 remarkable Black men who are asked these thought-provoking questions like, who are you? What is the myth and truth of Black men? How do you feel about the state of Black men today, and what would you like to see change? These questions were asked in order to add to the conversation of how the world sees Black men and how we see ourselves.

For over 10 years, Milner grew up in a predominantly white environment. As she attended the University of Southern California, she noticed in her studies that race in the media always had a way of shaping and influencing culture to fit their narrative of the Black community. “The stories that were being told by people that didn’t look like me caused me to notice my own insecurities,” Milner says. “That simply had to change.”

Milner's experience with race during a Disney production of The Princess and the Frog had her asking why the prince couldn’t be Black since the princess was? It didn’t take her long to realize that they weren’t interested in having a Black prince. “It’s not that they couldn't, they just refused to do so,” Milner says.

From that moment, the photographer decided to make it a priority to remind Black men “just how great they were and how much greater they could be.” Initially, Gifted was supposed to be about Black women, because growing up she always saw images of Black women and how remarkable they were. It caused her to feel like she could be too. “Something in my spirit exuded greatness,” Milner says about growing up.

That Disney experience she encountered caused her to switch her book to focus on Black men because she wanted them to be reminded “just how unique and powerful they were.”

The book focuses on what matters to Black men; their fears, dreams, and everything that they deal with on a day-by-day basis. Each photo she took while on campus, every interview she conducted over the years, along with the raw unapologetic truths displayed in the book, will leave both Black men and women empowered. A combination of 80 photographs captured by Milner with 40 in-depth interviews seized over time will leave readers feeling inspired.

Milner knows that Black people are powerful and that oppression cannot keep us silent, and this book proves just that. Professionally, Milner plans to enjoy the moment with her first book release, however the opportunity to do campaigns with different companies is also on her radar as she hopes to continue documenting Black culture.

Pre-order Jaimie Milner's Gifted here.

Photo Credit: Jaimie Milner