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321 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.

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Notes Photo January 11, 2021

The Cult Of Trump In Its Last Throes

In the assault on the Capitol, the distinction between faith, nation, and godhead finally and completely broke down.

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Notes Photo January 10, 2021

Capitol Artwork a Symbolic Participant in Trump White Supremacist Riot

While the rioters who invaded the Capitol amplified the nation's history of white supremacy, that history was already hanging on the walls behind them.

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Salon Photo December 11, 2020

Reading the Symbols of Political Movements: A Joint Reading the Pictures/Columbia University Tow Center and Data Science Institute Salon

In this Salon, we discuss the symbolic strategies of political movements, especially those on the far right, and the challenges posed to the media.

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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.

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Chatting the Pictures Video September 1, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Rare Images From Inmates as Prisons Ravaged by Covid-19

Pictures from inmates in federal prison are rarely seen by the general public. However, the deathly impact of Covid-19 is changing that.

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Chatting the Pictures Video July 30, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Black Lives Activist Replaces Slave Trader on English Monument

In this highlight video, we analyze the likeness of a Black Lives Matter activist atop a 125-year-old English monument. It's an especially powerful gender statement.

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Notes Photo July 25, 2020

Portland Protests: Mary Poppins Has Had Enough

Until a few weeks ago, the demand for racial justice and an end to police violence was pretty straightforward. Clearly, things have gotten more complicated.

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Chatting the Pictures: Parents Fight Masks in Utah

In this highlight video, we find as much confusion and ambivalence as anger in Utah parents protesting a requirement students wear masks to fight COVID-19.

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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.

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Chatting the Pictures Video July 12, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Trump Mt. Rushmore; Gun Waving St. Louis Couple; Racial Protest Self Portrait

This webcast looks at the Trump Mt. Rushmore rally, the St. Louis couple that pointed weapons at demonstrators, and a racial justice self-portrait.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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Notes Photo June 3, 2020

Documenting a Protest Has Never Been More Challenging

This week has been unusually difficult for photographers who are trying to cover the George Floyd protests. Essay and images by photographer Alan Chin.

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Notes Photo May 29, 2020

The Intersection of Racial Violence and the Coronavirus

What the photo speaks to is two different viruses that attack the lungs and kill African Americans.

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Notes Photo May 2, 2020

In Lansing COVID Protest, Hate in the Smaller Details

I’ve seen this action in many news photos when police, especially riot cops, become violent with citizens, but never the other way around.

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Notes Photo October 8, 2019

The Larger Reason China Wants to Strip Hong Kong Protesters of their Masks

By banning Hong Kong protesters from wearing face masks, China is also hoping to undermine the visual and the moral power of these disguises.

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