BIG IDEAS

Photo by Sam Devonish

With only a couple of days notice, at least 100 of Washington DC’s Black political and social elite ponied up $250 to get out of work on a Friday afternoon, tilt back a few drink, eat sushi and wait patiently for the appearance of Jeffrey Wright and the main draw, Maxwell, who was playing at DC’s Verizon Center hours later.

The occasion was a quickie fundraiser for Wright’s Taia Foundation, which funds infrastructure development in Western Africa - specifically and 18 mile stretch of road that will facilitate the transport of good and services and spur economic development.

Not that anyone knew that before they gave the money. But it was Friday, it was in the middle of the day and it was Maxwell. And in DC, that’s reason enough. In that city, if you want to stay on “the list”, sometimes you just write the check.

Photo Credit: Mario Tama (Getty Images)The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) just held its annual Best of PhotoJournalism competition and photographer Mario Tama won the prestigious Cliff Edom New America Award for his work on post-Katrina New Orleans, a common theme throughout the competition.It’s a stunning display of a great photographic eye matched with a real passion and respect for the people being portrayed. In the wors of one of the judges I talked to “Mario’s photos really showed a sense of dignity of the people.”Check out Mario’s full submission to NPPA here.