When Brittani Sensabaugh walks down the streets of East Oakland, she notices a combination of characteristics among those who live there—strength, struggles and power. It is those features she wants to capture in her photography.

Sensabaugh, better known as “Britt Sense,” is a documentarian whose project “222ForgottenCities,” is currently exhibiting in New York. Last month, it exhibited in Oakland, where the project began.

Through it, the young photographer showcases communities where people with “melanin,” as she puts it, live, to show that no matter where they are, they and their neighborhoods share many commonalities. She has already documented people in Oakland, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Watts in Los Angeles and Brownsville in New York.

Sensabaugh, recently named one of Teen Vogue’s “10 Amazing Black Women” who is “Changing the Game,” will next document New Orleans, before traveling to Africa this year.

Oakland North caught up with Sensabaugh in Oakland, after wrapping up an exhibit here and opening one up in New York last week.

Video by Angelica Casas and Brad Bailey, text written by Angelica Casas.