While preparing to speak in front of a crowd protesting the death of her father, Byron Williams, Kelly Williams, center, is consoled by her brother, Jeffery Thompkins, right, and another protestor at a rally. Byron Williams died while in police custody. Protestors spoke in front of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Sept. 14, 2019, in Las Vegas, NV. “We don’t deserve this. Our father should be with us today and we want the full body cam footage released,” Williams said.
Two street breakdancers show off their grillz on a corner in San Francisco before the Tyler, the Creator concert at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The dancers perform around the Bay Area. Shot on 35mm.
A protestor yells in anger discussing the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks at the hands of an Atlanta Police Officer outside of a Wendy’s in Atlanta, Ga. Protestors would burn down the Wendy’s location within 24 hours of Rayshard’s death.
Dag rubs a rock against a tree as his dad sells fish from the Mississippi River in Duncan, Mississippi.
Rapper Sleezy Lee, right, pulls a gun out while performing a music video alongside Frozonee under the Krog Street Tunnel in Atlanta, Ga. Sleezy Lee recently says he has been released from prison, and now is pursuing a career in music. “About to drop that Alienated tape and get this music thing going,” Sleezy said,
Aubrey Vann, 10, holds Alina D’Arcangelo, 6, while on a swing during Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas.
Who Will Survive in America
Title: Who Will Survive in America
Everyone remembers the day. For a moment the entire country stopped while watching the video of George Floyd. In a time when everyone was terrified of the coronavirus, there was another fear that every black person has everyday, and the fear was shown on a 8:46 iPhone video. In the same way as Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Eric Gardner, and Stephon Clark, there has always been instances of police brutality in America that received national uproar. What followed became one of the biggest uprisings in America since the LA riots. I remember when I first heard about the Breonna Taylor shooting. I saw on the local news the following day after her death, which was way before her death received widespread attention. I saw friends on Facebook who knew the boyfriend Kenneth Walker, and I could feel the pain they wrote in their post. I knew the story would receive local attention, but what I was unaware of during the time was the video of George Floyd would lead to an even bigger catalyst in uprising in my hometown of Louisville, and every major city in America.
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A protester throws firecrackers inside the Old Courthouse in downtown Louisville, Ky. People surrounded the building and threw rocks and fireworks into the building before the Louisville police threw tear gas at the crowd for them to disperse. Hundreds surrounded the Courthouse and the Louisville Police Department Headquarters while throwing firecrackers, rocks, and bottles through the windows. The community in Louisville would follow suit with protesting after the initial uprising in Minneapolis. Louisville already had their own ongoing issue with the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, but the tension during the last week of May of 2020 lead to intense rioting and protest in the city.
Story: Who Will Survive in America
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Everyone remembers the day. For a moment the entire country stopped while watching the video of George Floyd. In a time when everyone was terrified of the coronavirus, there was another fear that every black person has everyday, and the fear was shown on a 8:46 iPhone video. In the same way as Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Eric Gardner, and Stephon Clark, there has always been instances of police brutality in America that received national uproar. What followed became one of the biggest uprisings in America since the LA riots. I remember when I first heard about the Breonna Taylor shooting. I saw on the local news the following day after her death, which was way before her death received widespread attention. I saw friends on Facebook who knew the boyfriend Kenneth Walker, and I could feel the pain they wrote in their post. I knew the story would receive local attention, but what I was unaware of during the time was the video of George Floyd would lead to an even bigger catalyst in uprising in my hometown of Louisville, and every major city in America.
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“This ain’t Call of Duty anymore, every time you kill one of our own, we going to make some noise.” A protestor breaks down in tears with a fist in the air for the memory of Rayshard Brooks. The shooting death of Brooks at the hands of an Atlanta police officer at a Wendy’s lead to massive local protest as protestors would turn the location into a peace center for a few weeks before the local government eventually blocked off the Wendy’s for people to massively protest.
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Two nights after the death of Rayshard Brooks, protestors stormed the intersection of Pryor Avenue. Without any Atlanta police in sight during the time, a few in the crowd stormed the gas station next door to the Wendy’s with intentions to loot, but another group of people persuaded the crowd to go against the idea. Instead a few decided too loot at the Lennox Mall, while some went back home, and others stayed through the night to protest.
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Rival gang members hold up opposing gang flags tied together in solidarity during massive protest in downtown Atlanta during the uprising after the death of George Floyd.
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A protestor (center) paces with a uzi as protestors block off a busy intersection with vehicles in Atlanta, Ga. This followed within days of the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks outside of a Wendy’s by Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe. “I’ma clear the block. They not coming down here. I’m not going to kill my brother. I’m not going to hurt my sister. Cracker I’m coming for your ass,” the protester said.
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A protester lights his blunt as an American flag is burned to the ground in downtown Atlanta.
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The Louisville Police guard a street in downtown Louisville. Police would soon throw tear gas into the crowds to disperse the protestors.
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Protestors do an interview with a French news station two nights after the death of Rayshard Brooks. “All of us out here. You want to throw us up under the jail. You want to shoot somebody cause they went to sleep. What if we run up on your ass and shoot your ass. Y’all going to keep shooting us ? Fuck looting, we going to just start straight shooting,” one of the protestors said.
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In the middle of the night protestors drove to the Governors Mansion of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to protest the aftermath of the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. Protestors yelled with local sheriffs, police, before leaving after an hour.
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Dakota Walton, 7, visited along with her father the Wendy’s location of the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks by a police officer. The location would turn into a location of protest. Even Atlanta rapper Lil Baby used the location for a front page cover for Rolling Stone Magazine. The protest of Rayshard Brooks would soon became a memory and life moved on. Black people wondered when the story would happen again. Then came James Blake, then Dijon Kizzee, then the footage of Daniel Prude was released. The tension continued in a country that black people have always felt treated them like second class citizens.
Down in the Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is rich with blues, acres of farmland, and a majority African-American population. The region also with a history of racism towards black people. One of the first all black cities in America is Mound Bayou, which was a town of much promise of both infrastructure and business. Now the town is mostly housing projects and torn down houses.
The Delta has not been changed by gentrification, housing, or lucrative job opportunities. Some towns do not look much different than they did in the 1960’s. What is for certain is a large portion of the African-American population are living in income inequality. One must ask why a state with the largest black population in America also has not created more opportunities for the majority minority group.
Story: Down in the Mississippi Delta
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Title: Down in the Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is rich with blues, acres of farmland, and a majority African-American population. The region also with a history of racism towards black people. One of the first all black cities in America is Mound Bayou, which was a town of much promise of both infrastructure and business. Now the town is mostly housing projects and torn down houses.
The Delta has not been changed by gentrification, housing, or lucrative job opportunities. Some towns do not look much different than they did in the 1960’s. What is for certain is a large portion of the African-American population are living in income inequality. One must ask why a state with the largest black population in America also has not created more opportunities for the majority minority group.
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Doug Wilson, 64, watches the fields grow as cotton season begins in Minter City, Mississippi. Wilson has worked at the Pillar Plantation since he was 17 years old. “Yessir, I’ve worked here for 47 years. I always like hands-on work,” Wilson said.
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Henry Pollard, 18, knows first hand racism in Mississippi. He recalls being called the “N” word during a football game against a predominantly white team. Pollard also says there are issues with gangs in each town. “Them niggas in Clarksdale, Cleveland, and Mound Bayou all have beef. Niggas in Cleveland know not to come to Mound Bayou. There be shootouts at night.” Pollard claims the towns have turf war with each other, with each town being no more than ten minutes apart from the other.
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Robert Lee, 86, refers to growing up in Mississippi as rough. “Couldn’t go hardly anywhere. The crackers always told you what you could do.” Lee lives in Duncan, Mississippi now, and spends most of his days fishing and reading at his home.
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Kiray rides a mechanical horse outside of her Grandmothers trailer home in Itta Bena, Mississippi on August 9th, 2020. In rural Mississippi, house that have been demolished over the years remain in the same neighborhoods.
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Larry, 57, has lived in Clarksdale, Mississippi his entire life. The town he grew up in was flustered with gang activity in the 1980s with the Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords gangs playing a role in everyday life in Clarksdale. “I changed my life around. Since I got out I’ve left the streets alone. The brickyard and four corners couldn’t get along back in the day. Now we worried about the police fucking with us,” Larry said. He now lives with his friend Tameka, who goes by the nickname Tameka Alcohol.
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David, left, and Melvin, right, live in shotgun shacks in Coahoma, Mississippi. They are modern day sharecroppers who live across the road from a plantation they help harvest throughout the year. “Mississippi a place where the rich get richer and the poor stay poorer,” David said. The men are waiting for cotton season to begin.
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Archie laughs after work with his friend Vivian in Clarksdale, Mississippi on August 8th, 2020.
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Drew climbs a tree with friends in Alligator, Mississippi on July 31, 2020. The town of Alligator is a three corner long street with few houses and one housing project.
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Linda Smith Cain holds her Grandson Michael Montgomery Jr. so he can throw branches into the backyard fire in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
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Jimmy, 67, says the racism of Mississippi today is just as bad, but is more discreet. “They are still racist to this day, but they don’t say to your face. We don’t go out at night by ourselves, because they’ll approach you, and they’ll do so in a racist way. Prejudice was what I grew up with, then gangs and drug started a whole other conflict over here,” Jimmy said.
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Earn in his Caprice Classic with the big rim (donks) in Shelby, Mississippi.
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Larry Coffey walks deep into his backyard to a lake to go fishing for dinner. The Coffey family has lived in Duncan, Mississippi for over 40 years.