We asked photographer and educator Michole Forks to speak with us on issues like community violence, incarceration, and San Francisco culture.

Interview conducted by Stetson Hines

What neighborhood did you grow up in?
Bay View Hunters Point

Do you think people are the product of their environment?

I think people can become a product of their environment depending on their family foundation. I think we’re all nature of what we see in our environment we can become that, or become something different.

Was it a lot of crime where you grew up?

No, it wasn’t actually that it didn’t start happening until high school.

When was the first time you witnessed a crime? 

Probably when one of my classmates got shot at a party in 2003, I remember seeing him that Monday and him getting shot a couple of days after on Wednesday I remember walking the halls, and not seeing him there really hit me.

Did you lose any friends growing up?

A lot still to this day.

Are your friends still around?

Very few.

How does that make you feel?

Life is precious life is not a game, and you have to make decisions that will impact your future. It’s sad seeing somebody who’s been dead for almost ten years. I know almost about fifteen people who’ve been killed. It’s a lot in the last fifteen years.

Suppose you could talk to your friends and family that you lost to the grave or jail. What would you tell them?

I would ask them why first? Why did they need to do what they did? Then I would show them news articles about them for they can really get it. And this is what happened to you, and this is the reality. I would show them obituary, and news articles for them can understand.

How has San Francisco shaped you to become the person you are today? Due to violence, friends, and family members being locked up?

Keep my friends close because this is a small city as it is. I’m not a big San Francisco fan like I use to be in high school, where I was like “415” I’m cool off that.