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Notes Photo January 23, 2015

The Dream of Reconciliation: Martin and Trayvon, Eric, Wenjian and Rafael

If power is unequal, hearts are hard and communication in the public square is all too partitioned and barbed, I deeply appreciate both these images.

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Notes Photo January 19, 2015

Brands Exploiting MLK Day: Not Just the Most Horrible Offenders, But Why

Focusing on tweets that were visual or hinged on visual language, I've identified ones that co-opted MLK into the brand, and in some instances, were overtly racist.

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Notes Photo January 7, 2015

David Butow, Ferguson and the Crisis, in Our Media Culture, of Seeing What's There

The events are so complicated, so charged with racial history and people's personal experience that it's like the movie Rashomon, there is no single correct way of looking at them.

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Notes Photo December 29, 2014

Pictures That Lead: Race and Law Enforcement a Lot More Complex Than NYPD vs. de Blasio

Media doesn't do the public or the culture any favors in focusing so overwhelmingly on street battles and gotcha imagery.

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Notes Photo December 25, 2014

Looking Back on '14 With Compassion and Depth

I've been continually moved this year by imagery that took difficult situations and found a deeper human element.

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Notes Photo December 21, 2014

NYPD Apostrophe "T"

If pro-police demonstrators were seen wearing t-shirts mockingly pushing back on the #ICan'tBreathe meme, yesterday's act has completely altered the atmosphere.

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Notes Photo December 17, 2014

Jeb's Presidential Facebook Call All About the Profile Pic

With a more rainbow approach to America, the visual tonic is: we're not your father's GOP.

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Notes Photo December 12, 2014

Protesters vs. Props for Freedom: College Athletes Can’t Breathe Either

The solidarity of the players expresses a desire not to wear “freedom” as a slogan but to seize it as a fragile part of their daily lives.

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Notes Photo December 9, 2014

Almost as Striking as LeBron’s “I Can’t Breathe” T-Shirt in Brooklyn Last Night? The “Ferguson Jump Rope."

By pure coincidence, the piece of gear seemed to frame LeBron’s protest as a Ferguson echo too.

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Notes Photo December 7, 2014

Garner Aftermath: The Most Poignant "Die-Ins"

There have been so many "die ins" across the country, the newswires have been full of them. These three particularly stood out to me.

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Notes Photo December 5, 2014

Mindful of Rice, Garner and Brown: Gordon Parks's Two Black Boys and One White Boy

I wish I could tell you how I would have read the picture before. Instead, I made acquaintance with it while immersed in the photos from Ferguson.

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Notes Photo December 3, 2014

Todd Heisler's Two Scenes from the Eric Garner Non-Indictment

The beauty of the first photo is how it juxtaposes Radio City as a real life Christmas card with the street. It's the season of joy versus another day of open wounds.

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Notes Photo

… the more things stay the same.

The photograph stands as notice that the problem of black-white relations is the true American tragedy.

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Notes Photo December 1, 2014

Thoughts on the Rams "Don't Shoot" Gesture As They Obliterated the Raiders

As a single statement and a preamble to the contest is one thing, but bathed in light and replayed as the capstone to various winning moments is asking that much more.

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Notes Photo November 29, 2014

Black Friday: Ferguson Goes to the Mall

After the post 9/11 admonition to "go shopping," how striking to see the National Guard called in to defend big retail.

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Notes Photo November 26, 2014

Under Siege, Those Dancing Blacks and Acrobatic Palestinians

If I believed the world had that much more sensitivity, I would think these photos would be recognized and celebrated as empathetic to the largely black residents of Ferguson or to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.

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Notes Photo November 25, 2014

Mike Brown as Super Human: Wilson’s Testimony in the Echo of Lichtenstein’s Death Pile Photo

Human intuition being that much a marvel, Andrew's photo came back to me in a way that almost struck me dumb.

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