Tales from the Porch I: We are Human

2019 Exhibition & Screening Premiere - Buffalo State University

Aitina Fareed-Cooke, founder of Get Fokus’d Productions, developed the Tales from the Porch project in 2019 as an opportunity to break stereotypes and amplify the voices of members of the Buffalo, NY community through the use of creative arts.

Traveling to the four corners of Buffalo NY with her “weapon of choice” - the camera and her pen - Fareed-Cooke captured a collection of spaces and community voices showcasing what inevitably connects us is the fact that we are all human trying the best that we can within our society.

Tales from the Porch I: We are all Human was funded in part by Buffalo State University's Anne Frank Project, Get Fokus’d Productions and A.I. The Anomaly’s Patreon Members.

The Storytellers

Coffee

"A young boy got shot right across from my house. They ran right in between my house and the next one. I just want people to come together. We all human."

He saw things that he wished he could erase from his memory

Young lives lost in the near distance

Bullets fly like mosquitos, sucking lives aways

He prays for unity, togetherness and hope

There’s change brewing in his cup as he sips from the porch

Cigar

"Life is like this cigar.... slow burn. Painful but Calming. The one who holds it hopes to savor every pull."

Smoke rises as the neighborhood dreams

Mid day when the cars ease on by 

We sit and stare into the afternoon sky to free our minds

Free spirits and free souls

Funny how freedom was found, on the porch

Dog

"This is the house where I watched my daughter learn to ride her bike. I stood right here."

A father and his canine watches from the wooden paved palace

As his iris captures beauty

His daughter pushes pedals with speed, confident now

Accomplishments embedded in memories

Collected here, at the porch

Bike

The spokes spoke rhythm through rides

Till the dinner bell rang, its time

Till the gun shots rang, its time

Both made heartbeats blast

And the fast patter of footsteps, on the porch

Woman

"I'm not where I wanna be in my life but I'm further than I was."

Off into the distance there is hope, she’s sure

She reached it when she felt it was the most distant

Her eyes, fixed on the future

As she packs her goals into hopes suitcase

To travel here on a new journey, a new porch

Tattered

Torn, ripped rugged and rough 

Many feet have journeyed through my way

Laugher and tears have I held in my space

Creating character in between the cracks

Tattered but tough and built to last on this porch

Slime

"We started a slime business and we sell our slime right here on our porch."

Pull out the tables and chairs 

The market is open

Whatcha need? 

Slime, nail polish, beads, or bracelets?

We have all of that on our porch

Slide

I am the safe haven, the castle of comfort

The fortress of rest

Safety sits on this citadel, free

May you rest assure where you dwell will be secure

So go ahead and nestle deep into me, your porch

Flag

"I bet you'll find that there's no difference from one neighborhood to the next because we all human in the end."

Stars, stripes, colors and shapes

All come together to create a symbol that stands with a purpose

We the people of this neighborhood too, stand 

Differences and similarities, many hands one mind

Many houses, one porch

Chair

"Man, if this chair could talk.... I'm sure it would have millions of stories to share."

I’ve been placed here for support

And have held the weight of man

Watched from this concrete platform

And witnessed humanity move

All observed from the porch