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Members of White Stone Church of the Nazarene descend into the Rappahannock River to be baptized in White Stone, VA.
The Northern Neck
A window into rural Virginia
The Northern Neck, as it is colloquially known, is the northernmost peninsula in Virginia. It is flanked by the Potomac River to the north, the Rappahannock River to the south, and the Chesapeake Bay to the east. Drive into the Northern Neck and you will be surrounded by both natural beauty and abandoned decay. Vast corn fields dotted by white churches and forgotten houses evidence the peninsula's rural, agricultural foundations. Many people work off the land or the water. Working for the local Rappahannock Record newspaper, Zakaib spent two months of 2023 documenting this under-reported on part of America.
Watermen replace oyster cages on the Little Wicomico River. Oystering is a large part of local life in the Northern Neck.
Mathew Davis, an area high schooler, stands in a boat surrounded by oyster cages ready for the water. Davis interns over the summer for Cockrell, where he aims to learn about aquaculture.
Northern Neck Waterman Myles Cockrell stands in a drydock at the marina his family has owned and operated for generations.
Pastor John Farmer in front of Irvington Baptist Church. Farmer views his church as a gathering space and resource for his community
Reverend Dr. Tyron Williams in front of Mount Olive Baptist Church. To Williams, "the church is the conscience of a nation." The pastor views his church as the critical bridge of social, political, and medical well-being for his community.
White Stone Church of the Nazarene members descend upon Pastor Jim Jackson to be baptized in the Rappahannock River. Jackson leads a remarkably large, youthful and engaged congregation in a time when churches across the country struggle with membership. Read Zakaib's Full Story Here
A Lancaster High School Red Devils baseball player looks to the stands after his team won the Virginia semi-finals. Behind him, children rush the field in celebration. Baseball is of high cultural and entertainment significance in the Northern Neck.
Three women watch the Lancaster Red Devils play in the baseball state semi-finals at Dreamfields in Irvington, Virginia.
Kids at Kilmarnock Carnival. The carnival is an annual, long-awaited small-town tradition.
Watchers at a baseball game.
Cold storage in a family seafood warehouse.
Crushing fish before feeding them into the grinder.
A man grinding fish in his family seafood warehouse.
Braden George stands in his family's seafood warehouse. It's a generational business that will come to rely on George when his parents and grandparents are no longer able to work. George grew up surrounded by the business but said he doesn't want to continue in his family's footsteps. It's common for youth to leave the rural Northern Neck in search of greater opportunity. But without family like George, longstanding Northern Neck businesses like this one will die.
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