The Black Lives Matter protests continue and since my foot has healed and I had no Covid symptoms for two weeks after the first protest I went to I decided to go back out again and get some more photos of the movement. There were protests happening all over NYC yesterday including a huge one for Black Trans Lives and the canceled Puerto Rican Day Parade became protests for Black Lives Matter. Seeing the support from the LGBTQ community during Pride has been inspiring and seeing Puerto Ricans express solidarity as well is really incredible, especially after seeing the Trump administration turn its back on the island. I had a bunch of stuff to do during the day though, so I ended up going to the protest at McCarren Park which happens every evening. 

The McCarren Park protests are socially distant and people sit in the park and listen to speakers and it’s a honestly a great way to show support and hang out in the park and stay safe in the process. I met up with some friends I haven’t seen since Covid started and got to pet a dog for the first time in months and it was really nice. I brought my digital camera but I had a film camera on me and decided since it was just people sitting around the park I wouldn’t shoot any digital photos and I just snapped a few film shots and a couple on my phone for Twitter and I figured that would be it. But around 8pm when the speakers finished a group gathered for a march and I decided to join them and as it got too dark to shoot with 400 ISO film I broke out the digital camera. 

The march went from McCarren Park, through Greenpoint and eventually over the Pulaski Bridge into Queens. It was not as socially distant as the park, but people still stayed a few feet apart and I only saw two people without masks out of the 100-200 people there. It was a much smaller march compared to others  that day and for the last two weeks, but it was very well organized and the guy leading it was honestly very impressive. I wish I knew more about him because I have been to a lot of protests in my life and he was one of the more charismatic leaders. The protest was led and backed by people on bikes who blocked traffic as we passed through intersections and for most of the march the police followed from behind and led the protest but at a distance and there were absolutely no problems. If the NYPD had adopted crowd control like this two weeks ago I think things would be very different right now.

As we got to the Pulaski Bridge, we took a break and everyone came together. A couple of guys with guitars performed for everyone and the protest leader asked everyone to meet someone they had never talked to before. I talked to the guy nearest to me. I told him I had been taking photos of protests since 1995 and it turns out that was the year he was born and we both happen to be from the DC area. We both have lung problems where we might be more susceptible to Covid-19 but we both thought this was too important to stay inside for. He works in marketing but wants to be a writer and we talked about that and photography and how inspired he was to tell the stories of this movement. It was just a cool moment in the middle of all this. 

Walking over the bridge was a really nice moment as the sun was going down. We completely blocked off Queens bound traffic during the break and as we walked over. It’s a short bridge compared to walking over the Manhattan Bridge like I did the other week, but I was right at the front and seeing it empty of cars and then turning around to see everyone marching together was a pretty powerful experience for me.

Once we got to Queens a lot more police were waiting for us, but they didn’t bother anyone. They had a few cars in front and a few behind and a handful of cops walking with everyone. It was still completely peaceful and it started to get dark enough where it was hard to take photos. We happened to be right by the G train and my apparently still fucked up foot was starting to hurt so I left at that point.

On the train ride home two guys just started smoking a Black and Mild on the mostly empty train car. A guy at the other end saw them and lit a joint. I wasn’t super happy about being in an inclosed space with people who had taken off their masks to smoke but I wasn’t that close to them so I wasn’t too worried about it. As we pulled up to the next stop I saw some cops about to get on and I yelled out to the guys smoking and they managed to get everything put out before the cops could get on the train. It was just one of these NYC moments of solidarity that really made me feel connected to the city in a way I don’t always feel anymore. 

The last few months have been truly fucking horrible, but hopefully something better will rise from the ashes of 2020. I have some home. Stay out there. Keep protesting. Make your voice heard. Stay safe. Black lives matter.

Click here to see my photos from another Black Lives Matter protest.

Comments (0)