June 7: Your lens to the interne t's most powerful photographs. 📸

June 7: Week in Photography

Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs.

📸 MOST POWERFUL PHOTO OF THE WEEK 📸

David J. Phillip / AP Photo

George Floyd's family gathered in Houston for a rally in his memory, 10 days after he was killed in Minneapolis while in police custody. His death, along with the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other unarmed Black Americans, has kicked off days of protests around the world against racial injustice and police brutality.

While there are numerous striking images from this time showing the rage and violence, we have selected this photo as the most powerful one of the week to focus on the real grief and loss that Floyd’s family and so many others are suffering.

📸For Your 👀 Only:

Black Photographers Talk About Covering Protests

This week, we saw a visceral reaction across the nation in response to anti-Black racism and police brutality. The world turned to Instagram for authentic perspectives, even as the press covering protests were frequent targets for arrest and attacks.

We spoke with two photographers, Anthony Geathers, who was on the ground in his hometown of New York, and Vanessa Charlot, in St. Louis, about their experience.

BFN: Are you covering the protests on assignment?

Vanessa Charlot: Not initially. I started covering the protest in St. Louis as a private citizen and documentary photographer witnessing history in real time. Given everything going on right now in our country, the importance of this work took on a new meaning.

Anthony Geathers: I've been on assignment early this week for the NY Times after I initially began covering these protests on my own. Outside of that, I've been on my own photographing the protests.

Anthony Geather

Is this your first protest to cover?

VC: Yes. This is also the first time I've witnessed this kind of civil unrest as mom to a black son. This protest is personal for me. 10 to 15 years from now, in the eyes of law, my son will somehow go from being an adorable and curious 5-year-old to a something — not someone that poses an existential threat to others. The value of his life diminishes over time if something doesn't change in our country. As a veteran, I couldn't just stand idly by. I don’t want him to have to experience this — not now, not ever. If need be, I will continue to document this protest to shed light on the pain and rage that communities of color across the country are experiencing as well as the numerous allies standing with us.

AG: Growing up in the Bedford–Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, being that this has always been a predominantly black neighborhood, Bed-Stuy has roots in promoting Black unity and denouncing a lot of the systemic racism that occurs in NYC. There are lots of Black organizations that deal with this. As a kid, I've seen this firsthand, Black folks protesting when the NYPD killed Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo as well as other Black men in NYC. This protest is the same as other protests before because the energy with all these protests stayed consistent. Fiery, full of passion and energy. The NYPD is not liked at all in NYC.

Anthony, what are some of the challenges of covering a protest?

AG: For me, covering these protests aren't mentally or physically challenging, due to my past experiences as a Marine that have been a part of two combat deployments in Afghanistan. Combat teaches you how to deal and survive in chaos and hardship, so I've been able to maintain a clear mind while covering these protests, make fast decisions while photographing these protests, as well as making sure no agitators come to my neighborhood to destroy any Black-owned businesses.

Vanessa Charlot

Vanessa, a lot of your work is portraiture, including images from the protests in St. Louis. Can you talk about that approach?

Portraits force you to really look at the person. Taking portraits of black people humanizes them in a way that our country does not. It requires you to look into their eyes, see their expressions and naturally find ways to relate to them, closing the gap between me vs. them and embracing a deeper understanding of an us. The best part of the experience are the stories I've heard while photographing.

There’s magic when someone realizes that you truly see them, not without flaws, but imperfectly beautiful. The challenges are many, but the hardest to manage is how personal this work is. I can't be just an observer or a bystander. This is as much about my life and future as the next person. The people in my photographs, not just those involved in the St. Louis protests, but generally, are a visual representation of my own raw and visceral emotions.

What do you hope that people will take from this work?

VC: I hope that people will see the universality of civil unrest, and humanity more broadly. It isn't about being black. It's about being a decent, kind human being. As an artist, it is important that my work challenges our sense of complacency and forces us to recognize that we all are complex and beautiful. We are all human, and our human stories, no matter where you're from and what you've experienced, are filled with both resistance and resilience.

Vanessa Charlot

AG: What i want people to get through these images that I am making is that Black people from all walks of life in Brooklyn have had enough. The NYPD has been harassing black people in NYC for decades, so with the protests and everything, this was bound to explode. I've been hearing conversations in my neighborhood about the police in a negative way and there's tension here toward the police.

Being that my work between sports, music, and everyday life is focused on Black people, I want black people to see how it is in Brooklyn. There's a perception due to gentrification in Brooklyn, that there's not much black people here, especially in Bed-Stuy, so I want to show people that that is false.

📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸

This week, demonstrations have continued to sweep across the nation following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police. As protesters have grown in numbers and the message against anti-Black racism and police brutality has amplified, the response from police has been combative and often violent.

To help make sense of this monumental time in America, BuzzFeed News has brought together photo stories that capture a wide spectrum of diverse and historical perspectives on the systemic racism fueling the protests we see today.

Find more of the week's best photo stories here.

A VISUAL HISTORY OF PROTESTS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Pictures have been critical at capturing the long and tumultuous struggle for racial justice in the US.

THIS IS WHAT THE PROTESTS LOOK LIKE THROUGH THE EYES OF BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS

Anthony Geathers

"I want to make sure the stories of my fellow black brothers and sisters are accurately represented."

THE LAST TIME NEW YORK HAD A CURFEW, IT WAS 1943

Picture Alliance / Getty Images

Race and police brutality were at the root of the curfew, which was issued after a white police officer shot a black soldier and protests broke out.

📸SOME HOPE 📸

Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images

Let's let the SpaceX launch serve as a reminder to leave the planet better than we found it.

"That's it from us this time — see you next week!" —Gabriel and Kate

📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Gabriel Sanchez is the photo essay editor based in New York and loves cats. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. You can always reach us here.
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