Most people do not know that one of the earliest punk groups on the scene was a Black band from Detroit named Death that helped shape the sound of a radical style that would never sell out. Although Black and Latino culture lies at the roots of punk rock, its contributions have largely gone overlooked or erased. Artists like Bad Brains, Alice Bag, and Vaginal Davis have played an integral role, creating a space for communities of color within a predominantly white realm.
.
Over the past five decades, punk has transcended all boundaries, spanning four generations of disaffected youth. Mexican-American photographer Destiny Mata, (aka “The People’s Photographer”) remembers attending her first Punx of Color show in a Brooklyn basement and the thrill of being surrounded by Black and Brown musicians, which she describes as “the avant garde of the disenfranchised” in her first book, The Way We Were (Culture Crush Editions).
.
“After that one show, I thought, ‘Get me to the next one!’” Mata writes in the book’s introduction. “I met so many amazing artists, activists, and community organizers. But they were not just putting on a show, they were also putting together benefits for grassroots organizations fighting for undocumented and trafficked migrant workers, fighting against gentrification, supporting causes around autism and hunger like the Color of Autism Foundation and Feed the People/Bronx, all in support of their own communities. In other words, that night, there was much more to it than music.”
.
.
