Hey guys, Andy here. It hard to ignore events in California and the city of Los Angeles and think about how photography has helped capture civil rights. From The March on Washington (1963) which culminated in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, to Thich Quang Duc’s self immolation in Vietnam (1963) to Tank Man in Tiananmen Square (1989), these are iconic moments which have helped shape civil opinion and discourse across the world.
I often forget one of the first events I photographed was not fashion related; it was not a catwalk, it was not an historic fabric mill or bespoke garment atelier, it was a protest. Less than a month after leaving the British Army, I decided would photograph the protest which accompanied the G20 meeting in London in 2009. I accompanied approximately five thousand people, angry at the banking system and bankers’ remuneration and bonuses, who gathered outside the Bank of England in the City of London to voice their opinion. At the time I had only just recently purchased a dSLR and, having done a basic course, learned how to wield it. Up until this time all my photographic experience had been on compact cameras during my service. Thus I joined the event without any press accreditation or photojournalist know- how, with my only experience of protests coming from being in uniform and how to police and control them.
My morning began at Liverpool Street station from where I followed the crowd to Bank; it was at the start that I took a few candid frames of a rather diminutive gentleman carrying a sign saying, ‘Welcome to pig city’. While I loitered on the concourse I saw another photographer engage with the man, asking him to cover his face with his scarf and hold the up the sign; this photograph later accompanied The Economist’s article on events that took place that day.
Fate would have it that I later left Bank less than an hour before the protest turned into a riot; on the one hand I missed what some may call the interesting stuff, on the other, as I did not have any press accreditation and was for all intensive purposes a tourist, it meant I avoided being potentially detained, corralled or arrested.
It is hard to describe events in California as anything other than deliberate escalation by ICE, the National Guard and now by the USMC. The chaos which the President decries is of his own making and it is no surprise a reality tv star who adores being the centre of attention is stirring up drama in a state he holds in contempt. The hypocrisy of President Bone Spurs sending in troops when he both refused to aid police during the January 6th attack on the Capitol and later pardoned those protesters is thick.
What is the endgame? What is LA distracting us from? Trump’s strategy is less about “law and order” and “civil rights” and more about sending a message to Americans across the country; speak out against him and there will be consequences. I only hope that the protesters remain mindful that violence is at the top of his agenda and, whatever his ultimate goal may be, civil unrest will be used as his excuse. That is to say, do not take the bait; stay ‘civil’. Do not let this social experiment become a new heavy handed policy for the President to roll out again in the future.
As a veteran, I can not help but think those troops can not be in a happy place; I wonder about the validity of Trump’s order to send in troops and, if proven illegal what happens then? Will those who have deployed back down and leave? A law suit by the Governor of California declaring the President has issued an illegal order is working it’s way through the US legal system now, so we will not have to wait long to find out.
What images are going to be taken in LA and used to (mis) represent events? Are we going to see images of peaceful protest or will we see those of fighting and blood on the streets? All it takes is a moment; a momentary lapse in concentration, a moment of red mist, a moment for a life to be lost, a moment to be captured on camera, a moment to be shared, a moment to be taken out of context.
I am a photographer, I love photography. I love watching events unfold, be recorded, and be told through the medium in which I work. However, in this instance, all the civil rights photography I want to see are ones similar to the one I took in Liverpool Street station all those years go; of people peacefully expressing an opinion without fear of provocation or arrest. Having already seen a journalist get shot at by a rubber bullet on live tv I do not want to see images of violence as they will undoubtedly be used as an excuse to escalate the situation, and potential future situations, at the cost of lives lost.
