the newshour's tracy wholf has the story. >> reporter: zanele muholi's work focuses primarily on the black lesbian experience: from moments of celebration and joy, to intimate portraits and stories that depict the violence many gay south africans experience. everything from corrective rape, where lesbian are sexually assaulted by men who want to, "turn them straight," to murder. are you concerned about repercussions against your own family for the work that you do? >> unfortunately, a lot of innocent souls have been killed without even doing anything at all. but then if anything happens to me, at least i'll die, you know, peacefully, because i'll know that i've acted to challenge any phobias that still persist. >> reporter: catherine morris is the curator of muholi's exhibit at the brooklyn museum. >> zanele's engagement with her community is coupled with her extraordinary photographic talent. she is simultaneously documenting her community, but at the same time speaking very eloquently about the history of photography and history of portraiture. and these black and white photographs