portrait // BRAIMA MOIWAI
– shifting rhythms –
Braima Moiwai, a 58-year-old artist and teacher, moved to the U.S. from Sierra Leone 35 years ago. He’s lived in the same house in my neighborhood for almost two decades. This year, he’s moving out. The twin pressures of gentrification and COVID-19-related economic woes are acting in unison. Braima has been asked to leave his side of a rented duplex as the house undergoes renovation, converting it to a single family home, presumably to sell or to significantly increase the rental profit. Additionally, his work — centered around sharing his musical talents as a percussionist and teacher—has vanished.
We are, as many are fond of saying these days, “in this together”—in some ways. But Braima’s story shows us one example of how a global pandemic and rising costs of living can upend multiple forms of stability at once for people without access to a substantial cushion in a time of economic stress.
To help bridge the gap, Braima has applied for funds through state, federal, and local programs. But the immediate shock of the coronavirus shutdown gave him little time to plan, and his main source of income—leading drum circles for those in UNC Hospitals’ psychological ward—is no longer possible given current restrictions. In these photos, my goal was to convey what remains constant for Braima—his vibrance, his warm smile, his connection to music—even as his circumstances change.
>> GoFundMe Page for Braima <<