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2020-09-22
Last Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, passed away. During her tenure on the bench, she overcame multiple bouts with cancer and other health emergencies. Through it all, she never wavered in her commitment to the court as a vehicle for a more just and more equal America.
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2021-03-15
Maya, age 6 returned to in-person learning for the first time since October. Yesterday she got a haircut to get ready for her first day. Today, I asked her how her day was and she said it was good, but sometimes she felt sleepy because she forgot how long a school day is.
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2020-09-26
This week, a grand jury indicted former Louisville Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment next to Breonna Taylor's during an attempted search of her home. The decision and Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s refusal to answer questions about the investigation is troubling.
For instance, how could Hankison be charged with endangering Taylor’s neighbors but not with endangering Taylor herself? Was the grand jury even able to vote on whether the officers should be charged with homicide or was the judgement of self-defense determined by the Attorney General?
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2020-08-21
Wrigleyville home of the Chicago Cubs is known to be a neighborhood of Chicago that revolves around the Cubs. During a non pandemic year when there is a game at Wrigley Field there is people all around Wrigleyville. The neighborhood is bustling with Cubs fans everywhere. The restaurants are filled and the bars too. The cubs apparel shops are getting business and people are just happy. Now during the pandemic the neighborhood has a feeling of emptiness. No fans have been allowed in the stadium in over a year and a lot of the restaurants, bars, and apparel shops have been closed or temporarily closed until the pandemic is over. Things just aren't the same living in Wrigleyville during the pandemic.
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2020-05-10
Throughout living in this pandemic many people have had a multitude of different reactions regarding it. There is the people who really don't care too much about the pandemic and have not taken to many precautions in their life in regards to the pandemic. The next group of people are the ones who realize there is a pandemic follow the necessary precautions but don't obsess over it and make it consume their lives. And the final group of people are the ones who have let the pandemic take over their lives. My sister is in this last group. She has let it consume her and made her life revolve around this pandemic. She refuses to leave her apartment at all costs. In fact I think I have seen her in person maybe one or two times in the past year since the start of the pandemic. Along with that when I do see her even when it is known that I do not have COVID it has to be outside wearing a mask at least six feet apart and for not longer than fifteen minutes. Yes I understand the precautions of COVID but it is sad to me that this pandemic has caused family members to distance themselves from one another and has really put a lot of strain and stress on people. Hopefully the vaccine will be rolled out quickly and efficiently.
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2020-12-25
Holidays in America means at least for me have always been a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate. Big parties and gatherings have been a staple of the holidays for years. But this past year has been much different than the years before it. With the global pandemic happening the norm of these parties and gathering became inexistent. This year for the holidays I celebrated over what has become the new norm and that is Zoom. Eating and attempting to celebrate with your family on a Zoom call is one of the weirdest things I have experienced. Well it was nice getting to see everyone's faces doing it over a video call is not the way I enjoy. Hopefully things will turn soon as I am growing increasingly annoying by Zoom and video calls.
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2020-07-17
Covid-19 hit right before I was supposed to graduate as a senior in high school. We all had to go to the school, pick up our belongings, and finish online. I had looked forward to graduation day for years, and I wanted my dad to come from Colorado so badly, but he could not. Due to covid, we were only able to go to the field, wait in line, walk across the stage, and leave. It was underwhelming, yet I was very grateful my school put it together in such a hard time.
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2020-09-29
The Oromo community in Minnesota is demanding the United States help bring an end to political violence and restore human rights in Ethiopia.
In recent weeks, the country's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has jailed his political opponents and temporarily shut down the country's internet access. Abiy also indefinitely postponed Ethiopia’s general elections which were scheduled to occur this month.
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2020-10-09
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, was released on a $1 million bond Wednesday. Under the terms of his release, he is forbidden to have contact with Floyd's family and must surrender any guns and firearms licenses. He was previously not allowed to leave Minnesota, but a judge reversed this decision due to "safety concerns".
For the second night, demonstrators protested his release. @justicesquadmn, @fsfapv, @10kfoundation, @visualblackjustice are also demanding that all legal cases of police involved murders are to be re-open; a removal of the statute of limitations on these cases, and an end to qualified immunity for police officers.
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2020-10-13
In 2019, the Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department released arrest data from 2013 to 2017. The data showed Black individuals were 47% of D.C.’s population but 86% of its arrestees. During this time, Black residents were arrested at 10 times the rate of white ones.
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2020-10-15
Last night, protestors marched from Senator Amy Klobuchar's (@amyklobuchar) office in downtown Minneapolis to the Hennepin County jail to demand she take leadership in helping pass the American Dream and Promise Act. The bill would provide permanent protections for many undocumented immigrant youth, but also for the more than 400,000 people with temporary protected or deferred enforced departure statuses who live and work in the United States. This bill passed the House of Representatives in June 2019 and has been held up in the Senate.
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2020-10-23
It's been 39 days since Dawn Wooten, a nurse at a Georgia ICE facility, exposed mass hysterectomies were being performed on women for unexplained reasons. This week, 19 women at this facility came forward confirming Dawn's complaints and sharing doctors performed, or pressured them to undergo “medically unnecessary” surgery without their consent, including procedures that limit their ability to have children.
In these photos, Ananya Chatterjea, Founder of the Ananya Dance Theatre, shares a dance piece expressing grief and resilience.
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2020-10-26
On Saturday, protesters marched through the Mill District of Minneapolis and visited the residence of James Stolley, Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota. Marchers denounced inhumane conditions at ICE detention facilities locally. In the last few weeks, ICE has been criticized nationally for pressuring detainees to have invasive surgeries (including sterilizations) and underreporting the number of positive of COVID-19 cases by failing to test detainees.
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2020-11-05
With the Presidental election looming over the city, DC activists and community hosted a day of artistic expression demanding every vote is counted. Towards the event's conclusion at Black Lives Matter plaza, DC police and Health Department warned the organizers that they were in violation of a local health code that does not allow for food and aerosol spray cans to be within a specific distance from each other. After a tense standoff, the police retreated after the activists started to assemble for a potential escalation.
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2020-11-06
As Biden inched closer to 270 projected electoral college votes, protesters in DC cautiously celebrated a victory and demanded every vote should be counted. With a potential defeat in sight, yesterday President Trump doubled-down on false claims of massive election fraud without providing any evidence.
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2020-11-07
I love the bodily expression and freedom of dance. Even when choreographed, it creates space to break free from the rigid and often constraining way we're taught to move our bodies.
The People's Dancers Dance Troupe (@thepeoplesdancers) is DC-based group that uses dance as a nonviolent response technique. They aim to bring joy to dark spaces with creative movement and healing.
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2020-11-08
Pennsylvania became the state that helped Biden cross the winning threshold of 270 Electoral College votes to become the next President. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials in the state sorted through a historical number of mail-in votes that delayed processing.
During Biden's acceptance speech he struck a conciliatory tone, but on the ground it looked like the country was staggering forward as bitterly divided as ever.
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2020-11-15
Yesterday, thousands of Donald Trump supporters rallied in Washington DC to dispute the Presidential election results. Among those attending were white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and alt-right activists. Throughout the day, Trump supporters violently clashed with BLM and abolitionist activists.
I've had Trump supporters came at me a couple of times now. My favorite shots are the moments before they decide to make a move on me. Photo #9 is seconds before a woman decided to shove her bike in my direction.
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2020-11-16
The militarization of America's police first came in reaction to riots occurring in cities during the 1960s. These events were often in reaction to discrimination, poverty, high unemployment, inadequate schools, poor healthcare, limited housing options, and police brutality.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The Act created the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which made available grants to local governments to develop and purchase military-type resources to suppress riots. The money expedited the development of SWAT and other heavily armored police forces in cities to counteract uprisings.
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2020-12-04
Kamala Harris will become the first woman and first woman of color to become Vice President. She is also the first graduate of a historically Black university in the White House. Kamala graduated from Howard University with a political science and economics degree in 1986.
Her sorority sisters from Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrated her victory in Philadelphia after her Presidential ticket won the state.
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2021-03-15
Disposable mask trash near Mitchell Park.
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2020-12-05
Protestors and families members who have lost loved ones to police violence gathered yesterday to condemn the shooting of Joseph Washington last Saturday. A police body camera video shows Washington getting out of a dumpster running towards officers, naked, and unarmed. Officers then deployed tasers and released a K-9 dog in to stop him — one officer fired his gun hitting Washington twice. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell fired the officer who shot Washington. His termination is pending a union grievance process.
Washington was a suspect in a house break-in and earlier domestic incident. Protestors denounced his actions and declared this should not allow police to become "judge, jury, and executioner."
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2020-12-06
Yesterday, individuals opposing COVID-19 restrictions and the 2020 Presidential election results rallied for the third consecutive week. Around two hundred protestors countered the scheduled event calling out the relationship between Bikers for Trump MN and white supremacy groups attending like the Proud Boys, an all-male hate group that promotes and carries out political violence.
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2020-12-19
I had the privilege of documenting what I saw in Minnesota for @aclumn on Election Day. Going into the day I was prepared to see voter intimidation and long lines of frustrated voters, instead was met with celebratory and upbeat voters hosting cookouts and energized to cast their ballot.
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2020-12-22
Despite health warnings from the CDC, air travel in the US exceeded 1 million daily passengers for three consecutive days since last Saturday. If you're planning to travel, the health agency recommends getting tested one to three days before the trip and three to five days afterward. They also encourage you to "reduce non-essential activities for a full 7 days after travel, even if your test is negative.”
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2021-01-04
Twenty-three year old Dolal Idd was shot and killed by police Wednesday evening outside a gas station less than a mile away from the site of George Floyd’s death. Dolal's family only learned of his death after police raided their home in the middle of the night.
Minneapolis Police Chief Arradondo shared that officers were performing a traffic stop as part of a "probable cause” weapons investigation when they approached Idd. Arradondo refused to provide specifics. The edited body cam footage released by the police has only raised further questions about the incident.
"We want police officers to have serious consequences for their use of force -- and right now they don't. Right now they’re given a great deal of discretion to kill people,” said Jaylani Hussein, Executive Director of CAIR (@cairmn).
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2021-03-17
In 2017, 29-year-old, Cordale Handy was killed by Saint Paul Police as he was navigating a mental health crisis. Since her son’s death, Cordale’s mother, Kim Handy-Jones, has continuously championed an end to police violence and demand accountability for her son's death.
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2021-01-06
After a year where I've had more white men with semi-automatic weapons telling me to "fuck off" than I could predict for a lifetime. And witnessing the lenient policing of outright violent white supremacist groups in MN and DC. Today was not shocking, but it hurt and was disturbing.
Throughout the afternoon, pro-Trump supporters rallied at the MN State Capital and Governor's Mansion cheering on the attempted coup in DC incited by Trump.
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2021-01-08
I want to thank all the organizers, activists, community leaders, lawyers, journalists, photographers, educators, event marshalls, and medics who against all odds and dangers have raised their hands to dig America out of its messes. We appreciate and see you.
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2021-01-10
Yesterday, hundreds of protestors gathered to demand an end to the Line 3 pipeline construction by Enbridge in Aitkin County, Minnesota. The group blocked traffic on U.S. Highway 169 and MPR is reporting eight people were arrested.
The pipeline construction will bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Tar sands oil is one of the most carbon intensive forms of energy and the US Congressional Research Service found it produces 14% more carbon emissions than conventional crude oils. If global carbon emissions continue to follow their current trajectory, the global temperature will rise roughly 5.4 degrees (F) by century’s end, resulting in catastrophic changes to the planet.
Enbridge has been working on construction of the 338-mile pipeline since December -- claiming it will create thousands of construction jobs. Recently, a lawsuit was filed asking a federal court to halt construction, stating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to address several environmental issues and tribal treaty rights when it approved a water quality permit.
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2021-03-15
White and blue disposable face mask found near 9th and Roosevelt in Tempe, Arizona.
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2021-01-12
On Sunday, activists and community members hand-delivered a letter to St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter's home signed by over 500 constituents and 25 local organizations demanding the city stop evicting people from encampments during inclement weather and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter is asking city officials to meet these requests:
➡️ Convene an emergency St. Paul City Council meeting to address these issues
➡️ Place a moratorium on enforcement of any illegal camping ordinance, to last the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic
➡️ Halt the clearing and disposal of tents and other sheltering materials to ensure that unhoused people do not lose what may be their only present means to self-quarantine and practice social distancing
➡️ Adhere to the existing statewide eviction moratorium
➡️ Follow best practices outlined by the National Homelessness Law Center
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2021-01-21
Yesterday progressive activists called on the incoming Biden administration to center working people, immigrants, and BIPOC communities in their policy agenda. Their list of demands included community control of the police, no new oil or fossil fuel pipelines, and criminal prosecution of Donald Trump.
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2021-01-22
As Minnesota Governor Walz continues to allow construction on the Line 3 pipeline while simultaneously pushing for carbon-free energy in the state by 2040, pressure is building on President Biden to end construction of it.
Immediately after his inauguration, Biden revoked a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline which was meant to carry crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Rescinding this permit delivered a victory to anti-pipeline activists who challenged its development for over 12 years.
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2021-01-25
Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness (VEMA) and community members gathered to honor the lives of Estavon Elioff and Eddie Uti from the Iron Range region of Minnesota.
Elioff was a 19-year-old Latinx male who was shot and killed while unarmed by Sheriff's deputies in Mountain Iron, MN last year. There is an active investigation into his death by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Eddie Uti was a 29-year-old Samoan father of two from Hibbing, MN found dead in 2020. His last known contact was with the Itasca Sheriff's department. A medical examiner’s report revealed he died from a drowning after being “found floating near the shore of Pokegama Lake.”
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2021-01-30
Hundreds of protesters marched to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in St. Paul to demand President Biden direct them to revoke Line 3's water crossing permit.
The additional carbon emissions from the proposed Line 3 expansion is equivalent to operating 50 new coal plants over thirty to fifty years. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found if global emissions continue to follow their current trajectory, the global temperature will rise roughly 5.4 degrees (F) by century’s end, resulting in catastrophic changes to the planet.
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2021-03-12
While high school sports are going back to normal in Virginia, high school performing art programs are still restricted. A high school choir booster member has said this is unfair to the students and started a petition urging the state to update performing arts COVID-19 guidelines. Unlike high school sports, whose guidelines have been updated frequently, high school performing art's guidelines haven't been updated since September 2020.
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2021-02-04
I'm finally developing rolls of black and white 35mm film taken in January 2020. During this time, I solo backpacked through Japan, Hong Kong, and China -- this was just before COVID-19 was known to be spreading through East Asia.
Here is shot of me looking up from my hostel's (@wontonmeen_) patio.
Thanks to @drkrm_mpls + @brooklynn.kascel for teaching me the magic of developing film.
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2021-02-08
These photos were taken at the Bloomington March for Justice on July 25, 2020. At the same time - less than a mile away - a 'Black the Blue' and Pro-Trump event was being held and was along the march's route. Moments before these separate events met the sky darkened and it started raining heavily. It almost felt as if the universe knew what was going to unfold moments later.
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2021-02-16
There are 20 days until the trial of George Floyd.
This photo was taken at the Minnesota State Capitol last summer, moments before the National Guard and State Police thought using rubber bullets was an appropriate "crowd control" tactic for a peaceful protest.
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2021-02-17
Last month, it was reported by Healing Minnesota and The Intercept, that the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office requested that Enbridge reimburse them for nearly $72,000 worth of riot gear and more than $10,000 in weapons and ammunition, including tear gas, batons, pepper spray, bean bag rounds, and flash-bang devices. These items were identified as necessary PPE to "maintain peace in and around Line 3's construction site."
Since December 2020, more than 100 activists opposing the pipeline have been arrested for attempting to delay construction.
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2021
I live in Cleveland, Ohio. I grew up an hour away in Ashtabula, Oh. My fiancé and I went to a concert they day before everything else closed down. We had no clue it would be the lass mass gathering we would go to in over a year. We moved during the summer and that kept us going. However, after being in lock down and not being able to see our friends and family began to make things harder. We all know the tole that covid has played on physical health but mental health is something the news hardly covers. We have young nephews that we couldn't see. My dad turned 60 this summer and we couldn't have a big party. Summer passed and fall came we thought maybe we can get together for Thanksgiving. Then well if we skip Thanksgiving we can have a family Christmas. That would not be the case. My sister and brother in law had a big family Thanksgiving with his family and they all ended up getting covid. They were around my dad and he got sick. Christmas was a no go. I was worried about my grandma who was 84. It is now March 2021 and we are "remembering" the last year. People without anxiety are feeling the mental affects of a year were we were not able to have parties, gatherings, weddings, and even funerals to remember the lives lived and lost. It is hard not seeing the friends and families that we took for granted before covid. We all need to take a moment, and take a deep breath. Check in with our mental wellbeing. It has been a long year.
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2021-03-12
COVAX first round of vaccines
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2021-02-28
From Drew Arrieta: Dolores "Lola" Gonzalez was an employee at a South Minneapolis Cub Foods for seventeen years. After asking management at the location to act on ongoing transphobic and discriminatory harassment received from co-workers and customers, she was dismissed from her position on February 17th.
Yesterday, community members and customers rallied to show support for her and condemn Cub Foods for upholding transphobia.
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2021-03-01
From Drew Arrieta's post: Last Thursday, President Biden ordered airstrikes against two facilities used to smuggle weapons into Syria by a Iranian-backed militia. The Biden administration did not receive authorization for this attack and the US is technically not at war with Syria or Iran. Senate Democrats have pushed back against Biden over the airstrikes, calling on him to provide a briefing why military action was taken without congressional approval.
This weekend protestors gathered to condemn Biden's airstrikes and demanded his administration redirect military budget towards pandemic relief efforts.
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03/11/2021
“Chef” Tom Dickinson is the Culinary Instructor for Fairfield High School in Northern California. A native of Oregon, Tom shares his journey in overcoming his personal challenges as a student with Autism who was often dismissed by his educators, to becoming a beloved teacher himself. He is currently organizing the development of a comprehensive culinary program that teaches students essential life and job skills. Tom reflects of the effects Covid-19 has had on his life, community, and students. He reflects on the challenges of online learning and shares the creative ways he has tried to connect with students using technology during the pandemic.
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2021-03-02
From Drew Arrieta's post: On Sunday, George Floyd Square held space for black creatives to showcase and celebrate their creative excellence. The Twin Cities hands-down has one of the best spoken word and poetry communities. Thanks to @b_tulloch + @siriuslymarie + @toussaintmorrison for putting on this event.
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2021-03-04
From Drew Arrieta's post: Activists and community members are taking part in a series of actions in Minnesota this week to stop Line 3 construction. The replacement pipeline will bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands - one of the most carbon intensive forms of energy - daily from Canada to Wisconsin. Almost 30 years ago, the current Line 3 pipeline ruptured in Grand Rapids, MN, spilling 1.7 million gallons of oil onto the frozen Prairie River. It is the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history.
On Tuesday, a letter was delivered to management at multiple Chase locations signed by 41 Indigenous women supported by over 150 organizations requesting they stop providing financing to Enbridge, the company which operates and is building the pipeline.
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2020-03-08
From Drew Arrieta: Today, the jury selection begins in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for second-degree murder and manslaughter. Last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered Judge Cahill to reconsider adding a third-degree murder to his charges.
Hundreds of protesters participated in a silent march yesterday, honoring Floyd and over 240 individuals who died in police-involved shootings in Minnesota over the last 20 years.
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03/10/2021
This is an oral history of Ellen Galindo, a teacher in Orange County, California. The date of this interview was three days shy of the one year anniversary of when her school shut down. She has been teaching online for a year now. She is also expecting her first child. Her oral history is focused on her experience teaching through Distance Learning and her feelings on being pregnant during the pandemic.
