Documenting a Protest Has Never Been More Challenging – Reading The Pictures

In a recent Facebook post, New York Times writer David Gonzalez confronted photojournalists who make photographs of protests. “Fotogs: What do you value?” he asked. “Now is not a good time to start handicapping which image of Black suffering will get a Pulitzer. Especially when your POC [people of color] colleagues are worried about their families, lives and community.” Veteran photographer Joseph Rodriguez suggested in response to the post that photographers are making the “same ol’ same ol’ images of death, disease, poverty, violence. It is the DNA of several news photo contests.”