Julia Dean, Venice, Calif., continues to work on what she calls “the child labor project.” Following are excerpts from a letter she sent to faculty at the college in April.
This project has been bigger than life. Sometimes I question my sanity for undertaking such an endeavor only to realize moments later that my desire to do my part is a force stronger than rational thought.
More than 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work around the world. Most of these children are robbed of an education. Many live on the streets. They are slaves to bonded labor, domestic service and prostitution. They work in the fields, in industrial factories and in garbage dumps. These children struggle to survive in an unjust world.
We may not fix the problem, but we hope to help. My idea of incorporating a team of photographers, rather than me alone, seemed to be the best way to make the biggest impact. In December of 1997, I held a contest to pick the team. I flew judges in from the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic and the Los Angeles Times. We now have 11 photographers on the team: two Pulitzer prize winners, three Robert F. Kennedy award winners, a W. Eugene Smith and Dorothea Lange recipient, a National Geographic photographer, two L.A. Times staffers and on and on. We have quite a remarkable team of talent.
Supporters thus far include Eastman Kodak, A&I Labs, Amnesty International USA, Canon USA, World Vision, United Methodist Church, International Labour Organization, MSNBC and Reebok Foundation. My advisers include folks from UNICEF, National Consumers’ League, the U.S. Department of Labor, International Labor Rights Fund, United Nations Association of the USA and several outstanding individuals.
Last summer I flew the entire team — the photographers, two reporters and Bert Fox, my director of photography — into L.A. for an assignment session. In February this year I sent the first photographer out on assignment to India. I’ll send the next photographer to Peru in June.
If all goes as planned, I will get all the photographers, including myself, out and back within the next year with plans of launching the exhibit in Washington, D.C. The exhibit will travel to eight to 10 U.S. cities before ending in New York and then going on an international tour. We’ll have a book, too. MSNBC is doing a series of picture stories on the Web. They’ve provided us with top of-the-line audio gear, so our stories will include sound.
Last but not least, we have a new fiscal sponsor. Our original sponsor felt it was too small for such a big project, so I had to find a new nonprofit umbrella. We are now affiliated with a prestigious group called The Tides Center, located in San Francisco.
Those wishing more information about Dean’s project may contact her at 3111 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 102, Marina del Rey, Calif. 90292; (310) 821-0909;
juliadean@earthlink.net.