#Ferguson2NYC

December 13, 2014

When the grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson in the killing of Mike Brown was released, protests erupted across the United States. Some were peaceful and some were violent. People of all backgrounds participated. Wishing to bear witness to an undoubtedly historic moment, and wanting to document and empathize with those feeling pain, anger, desire for change, heartbreak, resignation, indignation, and the thousands of other sentiments free-flowing, I went to New York City’s Times Square. I listened, and bore witness through my lens. The quotes associated with the pictures below are the chants/words spoken during each shot. Read them. Bear witness.

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom!/It is our duty to win!/We must love and support each other!/We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

“There will never be no justice as long as they [police] have guns in they hands.”

“It’s a racial issue, this decision is bullshit.”

“Black lives matter!”

“They let his body lie in the street for four hours! How many more of our children will die?”

“No justice, no peace, no racist police!”

“Being black is not a target to shoot!/Being black is not a license to die!”

“Wake the fuck up, they are killing people!”

“Hey hey, ho ho, these killer cops have got to go!”

“Those cops over there, will they shoot us for standing here?”

“We are all equal!”

“Whose streets? Our streets! Whose streets? Take the streets!”

“This is not a fun event to take pictures at and shit, to watch, to spectate. It means too much to too many of us. Being black and conscious is being in a constant state of rage. We treat white guilt better than we treat black victims.”