In the South, death is rarely a private matter. It is met with food arriving at the family's door, cars pulling to the side of the road as a procession passes, and churches filled for a homegoing. I began this project wanting to understand what happens in the space between a person's last breath and their final resting place, and who carries them through it.

"Fishers of Men" is a black-and-white photo essay of fifteen photographs drawn from several funeral services. Together, they trace the full process, from the first preparations to the final interment. Arranged in sequence, the images document the rituals, practices, and labor that surround the end of life, much of which takes place out of public view. The story is told through the perspectives of funeral service providers, grieving families, community members, and others whose work and lives are tied to the funeral industry.

I chose black and white so viewers can focus on gesture, texture, and light rather than color. I wanted the photographs to hold both the procedural side of death care and its emotional weight, because in this work the two are never truly separate. The careful preparation that happens behind closed doors is as much an act of love as the eulogy delivered from the Pulpit.

What viewers may not see at first glance is how deeply Southern funerary tradition is rooted in community. Funeral homes have long served as anchors in their neighborhoods, and in many Black communities they have been among the most enduring locally owned businesses.

The rituals they carry out, from the visitation to the repast, insist that every life deserves to be Honored.

The longer I spent with funeral directors and families, the more I came to see this work as a kind of ministry. The people who do it rarely receive recognition, yet they guide families
through some of the hardest days of their lives with patience and quiet dignity.

I hope these photographs invite viewers to reflect on their own mortality, on the traditions that shape how we grieve, and on the people who make it possible to say goodbye well.

Mt. Gilead

Mount Gilead Baptist Church stands on 404 Dowd Street in the North Durham neighborhood, Durham, NC. Founded in 1908, the congregation has held homegoing services for families in the neighborhood.

Stained Glass

A stained-glass dove, a Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit and of peace, is set into the window of Morehead Avenue Baptist Church in Durham, NC. The same symbol returns at the graveside, where doves are released at the close of many homegoing services.

Last Goodbye

Mourners file past the open casket of Henry Faucette, 86, during the viewing at White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, NC. In many Black Southern churches, the viewing is a communal act as much as a private one, as mourners file past the open casket to pay their respects and see that their loved one has been cared for with dignity.

Last View

Staff with Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor lower the lid of the casket of the deceased as Rev. Dr. Reginald Van Stevens speaks from the pulpit of White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, NC. This is the final closing of the casket, which signals the start of the formal homegoing service.

Pulpit

Family and friends fill the sanctuary of Morehead Avenue Baptist Church in Durham, NC for the homegoing service of George Bell. The pulpit is the center of the homegoing service, the place from which scripture is read, tributes are offered, and the eulogy is delivered, giving voice to a community's grief and its faith in what lies beyond.

Call to Order

Reverend Charles C. Barnes Sr. of Morehead Avenue Baptist Church in Durham, NC, opens the homegoing service for George Bell. The call to order marks the moment the gathering of mourners becomes a service of worship, as the officiant quiets the sanctuary and sets the tone for a homegoing that will both grieve a loss and celebrate a life.

Praise Him

A funeral attendee raises her hands during the homegoing service musical selection at Antioch Baptist Church in Durham, NC. In the Black church, gospel music turns the funeral into a homegoing celebration, as hymns and spirituals passed down through generations lift the congregation from sorrow toward praise and the hope of reunion.

Handle

A praying-hands emblem marks the end of the casket of the deceased. The praying hands motif traces back to a 1508 drawing by the German artist Albrecht Dürer and has become one of the most recognized symbols of faith in American funeral tradition, appearing on caskets, programs, and headstones alike.

In the South, death is rarely a private matter.

Call to Pray

Rev. Dr. Reginald Van Stevens leads the congregation in prayer during a funeral for the deceased at White Rock Baptist Church. Staff from Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor stand at the front and sides of the sanctuary throughout the service to assist with the proceedings.

The Last Flight

Pallbearers carry the casket down the steps of Morehead Avenue Baptist Church in Durham, NC. Serving as a pallbearer is considered an honor, a final act of care for the deceased, reserved for those closest to them.

Horse and Buggy

A horse-drawn hearse carries the casket along from the church to the final resting place. Gold Leaf Carriage drives the team and turns the journey to the cemetery into a public tribute.

Committal

FMFP Staff member places a rose on the casket during the committal service at Beechwood Cemetery in Durham, NC. The committal is the last rite of the homegoing, when family and friends gather at the grave to say a final goodbye before burial.

Dove Man

Randy from White Doves of Pittsboro prepares doves for release at the graveside. Releasing white doves at the graveside symbolizes the spirit of the deceased being set free to return home.

White Rock Dove

Randy holds a white rock dove before its release. In the Gospels, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove, which is why the white dove has long been a symbol of the soul and of God's presence at Christian funerals.

Release

The dove release at the close of the committal service in Beechwood Cemetery in Durham, NC. For many families, the dove release offers a final moment of hope at the graveside, turning the focus from the lowering of the casket to the sky, where the birds rise together before turning toward home.

Virginia Cemetery

Rows of headstones mark the graves of veterans at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, Virginia. Burial in a national cemetery is an honor earned through military service, and the identical white headstones, set in uniform rows, mark each veteran as equal in death regardless of rank. The final resting place marks the end of the journey that begins with a person's last breath, the ground where the work of funeral directors, the prayers of the congregation, and the love of family finally come to rest.

Christopher C. Fisher is a Durham-rooted documentary photographer and filmmaker and an M.F.A. candidate in Documentary Expression at the University of Mississippi. He also directed Bedrock of Hayti, a 2026 Official Selection at the Hayti Heritage Film Festival, and his photographs appeared in the Body Politic project in Oxford American (Summer 2025). He also creates and hosts Soul Sample Radio on Rebel Radio 92.1.