DocX Diaries: Reflections From J Wortham

J Wortham

Graphic with image of J Wortham taking a photo on the left and her name and words "what is freedom" on the right
Zoomed in view of original graphic by Nikki Pressley, created as a visual interpretation of the DocX fellows' presentations of their work in April, with photo of J Wortham

J Wortham is a writer, oral historian, reiki practitioner and sound healer living in Brooklyn. They participated in the DocX Residency: Another World is Possible at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in spring 2025 — conceived by Stephanie Owens and Nyssa Chow as an invitation for documentary artists to connect, breathe and create. 

Below, Wortham reflects on this experience and time spent working on their project, “Riis Beach,” a visual oral history of an iconic shoreline in Queens, New York. Long a site for the celebration of queerness, the beach is a beacon of Black radical imagination and a sanctuary where marginalized communities reclaim joy and freedom.            

This piece is part of our DocX Diaries series, with entries and insights from all the 2025 DocX fellows. 

Beautiful light on rippling water
Image: J Wortham
"May you study the pink of yourself. Know yourself riverine and coast. May you taste the fresh and the saltwater of yourself and know what only you can know. May you live in the mouth of the river, meeting place of the tides, may all blessings flow through you.” ― Alexis Pauline Gumbs, scholar and Durhamite, “Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals”

My project is a visual documentary short about a very special nude beach in New York called Riis. I came here to spiral into answers to the fundamental question at the heart of my project: What makes a place queer? But I began to understand that at the heart of that question is a fundamental question of freedom. What is it? What does it mean? And what does it feel like to taste it for a weekend, or even an afternoon?

purple and white flowers are displayed on a circular wooden board
Image: J Wortham

Durham County offered a wealth of inspiration while searching for this answer. It was all around me, including (but not limited to). V visiting the Pauli Murray house in the West End and holding the beautiful bricks her family made as trade that literally built the foundation of downtown Durham. Picking violets for tinctures and salads at a friend's farm on the edgeskirts of the city. Full Frame and the Black Queer Studies Cconference delivered a feast for the imagination. Local farms nourished my spirit. The Eno River replenished something adrift in my soul. Visiting the beautifully maintained homes of the formerly enslaved Stagville allowed me to give thanks to my ancestors and remind me that this land is the land of my people. Going line dancing at the Pickleback with local scholars offered both embodiment and release in Black American tradition. The knowing of myself deepened during my time at Doc X and so many blessings — including those yet unknown — flowed through me during my time here.

I am forever grateful to Stephanie Owens and Nyssa Chow for the opportunity, and the thoughtful and intentional time that created this creative bubble to push my visual art dreams closer to fruition. Thank you to Imani, Kamee, Emily, Dom and Arielle for your heart forwardness and molten emotional core. And thank you to CDS for the temporary home. It has been a propulsive and transformative time.

Looking down on two fellows sitting close together
Image: J Wortham

Before this fellowship, I did not see myself as a filmmaker — rather a writer with a hope of one day making something visual. But at the conclusion of my time here, thanks to the resources of the program and the generosity of every single member of my co-hort, I feel like I’ve started a new chapter of my creative practice. Thank you for the opportunity and the gift of time. I hope to come back and spend more time on campus as a proud alumni. 

In light, love and solidarity, J