Back to all topics Race Focus
279 Posts
Chatting the Pictures Video April 21, 2021

Chatting the Pictures: Riot Cop Photo Raises Question of “Who’s the Other?”

A prominent photo from the civil rights protests in Minnesota raises important questions about power and place.

Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures Video November 24, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Kamala’s Sorority Sisters Stroll Dance in Harlem Inspired by 2020 Victory

We discuss the joy and history of Alpha Kappa Alpha as Kamala's sorority sisters stroll dance in Harlem inspired by the Biden/Harris victory.

Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures Video October 19, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Early Voting With a Passion

Despite the obstacles, citizens are determined to be heard in the 2020 election. We discuss this "first day of voting" photo from Georgia.

Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures Video September 15, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Militia Fist Bump With Riot Cop at Stone Mountain

This video looks at the presence of armed Trump supporters, and rising concern over the relationship between police and white militia groups.

Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures Video July 24, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Protest, Racial Justice, and Portland’s ”Wall of Moms”

This webcast looks at the militarized response to racial justice protest in Portland and the role of a largely white mothers group demonstrating there.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo July 20, 2020

Where John Lewis Meets the Present Moment

Crowley's photo honoring John Lewis elevates an important aspect of the movement. It highlights today's injustices as yet another opportunity to educate.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo June 29, 2020

Telling Image of Race at DC Emancipation Statue

It's an especially symbolic photo as America reckons with the legacy of Black slavery. Studying Evelyn Hockstein's photo, the question is where to begin?

Continue Reading
Notes Photo June 25, 2020

Refacing the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond

As it awaits its fate, the Robert E. Lee monument has become nothing short of an artistic magnet—literally a canvas to change.

Continue Reading
Chatting the Pictures Video June 20, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: 3 Signature Images of the George Floyd Protests

In this week's Chatting the Pictures, educator John Mason joins us to discuss key portraits from the protests following the killing of George Floyd.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo June 17, 2020

Tabloids Get Black Man’s “Heroic” Rescue of White Hooligan Exactly Backwards

Take away the celebration and what we have is a visual testament to the way black people have historically been weighed down and burdened by the white man. 

Continue Reading
Notes Photo October 2, 2019

Apartheid’s Legacy From Here: The Photo That Struck Me Most At Photoville

I'm sure this scene is more nuanced in South Africa. But to see a photo in America of black kids eyeballing a white kid is exceedingly rare.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo April 18, 2019

Louisiana Church Fires in the Shadow of All Else

The Louisiana church fires have been largely overlooked. Edmund Fountain's powerful parishioner portrait calls out: "We are here!"

Continue Reading
Notes Photo January 15, 2018

On the New Yorker “Shithole” Cover, Among Others

This is probably the most damaging word picture Trump, or any politician, has ever uttered. My quick takes on the illo.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo November 2, 2017

There’s #TakeAKnee, and There’s Take a Knee

Of course, we were owed a better caption. At the same time, though, it makes for an interesting experiment to see how much we assume.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo September 7, 2017

The Dreamers and the Pictures: Rising Above

The Dreamers' legitimacy was obvious in the widespread disdain for Trump's action. It is also echoing through the news photography.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo February 21, 2017

On Tokenism, and Trump’s Jewish Make-Up Photo at the African American Museum

Trump turns this moment -- and the African American Museum of History and Culture itself -- into the same thing it converts every shred of real estate into.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo February 10, 2017

Black Soldiers as White House Props, Once Again

I predict a steady diet of pictures like this one as the White House panders along.

Continue Reading
Notes Photo January 22, 2017

Cranky Transfer of Power: Our Trump Inauguration Round Up

Perhaps the best thing way to sum up the inauguration is that the deed has been done and the Trump era has officially begun.

Continue Reading