by photographer Brenda Kenneally
2001 FiftyCrows PhotoFund Winner

The work that I have planned for the next year is a continuation of a project that I began in my Brooklyn neighborhood four years ago. The project has led me to focus on the manner in which the illegal drug economy has taken root in urban families and on the resulting cycle of physical and economic dependency, particularly for women.

I hope to establish a link between the lack of social and economic opportunities for female minorities living in the inner city and their dependency on illegal drugs. I want to explore the way that this dependency is used as a means of empowerment for women with few other options, and as an avenue to enter other forms of illegal activity that provide financial opportunity. I also would like to look at ways in which the system treats women who would come under the supervision of the court, child welfare, or the drug treatment system due to either sale or use of illegal drugs. Lastly, I want to show how social and legal attitudes differ along gender lines when these types of  “crimes” are committed.