Katina Parker

Katina Parker is an American filmmaker and photographer[1] from Durham, North Carolina. She founded the mutual aid group Feed Durham during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3]

Early life and education

Parker grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. Her family included cooks and civil rights leaders, she had a Southern Baptist upbringing, and started taking pictures when she was ten.[4] She graduated in speech communication and fine arts in film production.[4]

Work

Her 2012 photo exhibit One Million Strong documented the Million Man March and ten years of following events.[1] The Triangle Tribune called her work "emotional and thoughtprovoking", saying she was able to "capture intimate moments at the right moment and at the right time".[5] She filmed and co-produced Ferguson: A Report from Occupied Territory (2015), about the reactions to the 2014 Killing of Michael Brown.[4] In 2017, she made the two-part film CALL:RESPONSE for Duke University. The subject was murders of Black Americans, and it was screened at a panel titled "Visualizing the Impact of Racial Violence".[6]

Parker has been a media strategist for GLAAD, and worked as a teacher and consultant at Duke University.[7][4]

Feed Durham

Katina Parker cooking in 2020

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Parker founded Feed Durham, calling it "a scrappy, determined mutual aid collective that came together in answer to mounting hunger in the Durham area".[8] The group cooked food, offered it to people who could pick it up themselves and donated the rest to local charities.[9][10] Indy Week called the effort "a model for direct crisis activism".[11]

By December 2020 they had prepared 10,000 meals, and by March 2021 they had held seven cookouts, as well as raised over 100,000 dollars via GoFundMe.[2] By November 2022, they had, according to Parker, helped feed 100,000 people with cooked food or groceries.[12]

Feed Durham inspired similar programs in other cities. Parker and others documented the group's activities, and their work was presented in a 2023 art exhibit by the Durham Arts Council, "Lovingly Prepared by: A Multimedia Experience by Feed Durham."[13]

Personal life

As of 2020, she lives in Durham, North Carolina and has a daughter.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "One Million Strong Photo Exhibit: Capturing Historic Marches". Ebony. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b Toth, Casey; Innis, Charlie (22 May 2021). "Meet the people cooking thousands of free meals for Durham's hungriest residents". The News & Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  3. ^ Quillin, Martha (21 November 2021). "'Feed Durham NC' volunteers pack Thanksgiving bags with groceries and good feelings". The News & Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hanner, Carol L. (15 December 2020). "A Meal With a Side of Hope". Wake Forest Magazine. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  5. ^ Howell, Evelyn (14 October 2012). "A million memories at Hayti photo exhibit". The Triangle Tribune. ProQuest 1113795393.
  6. ^ Hogan, Wesley; Parker, Katina (9 August 2017). "Filmmaker Katina Parker's CALL:RESPONSE Explores Police Aggression Against People of Color". Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University. Archived from the original on 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ Dewey, Charlise (7 August 2013). "Film documents lives of queer Black visionaries". Windy City Times. p. 30.
  8. ^ Suchak, Bhawin (6 May 2021). "After the Pandemic, Can a More Racially Just, Equitable Documentary Field Emerge? | International Documentary Association". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  9. ^ Elliott, Amy (27 July 2020). "Everyday Hero: Durham Woman Leads Effort to Feed Thousands in Need". Spectrum News 1 Capital Region. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  10. ^ Armstrong, Rick (17 July 2020). "Contactless cookouts give free meals to Durham residents despite meat shortages". WRAL-TV. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  11. ^ Edwards, Sarah (10 June 2020). "Filmmaker Katina Parker Is Feeding Multitudes in Durham During the Pandemic". Indy Week. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  12. ^ Ellis, Mariah (19 November 2022). "Durham group helps feed hundreds of families with Thanksgiving grocery giveaway". WNCN. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  13. ^ Inge, Leoneda (21 July 2023). "Feed Durham: Artistry, activism and food". WUNC. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
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