No Hate! No Fear! Immigrants are Welcome Here! (Film Photographs of Boston Protest)
January 29, 2017 saw thousands of protestors fill Copley Square in downtown Boston. The masses gathered to protest President Trump’s order blocking Syrian refugees and immigrants from six other predominantly Muslim countries.
It just so happened that I was going to the city to shoot unrelated work. As I got off the train at Copley Square, I found myself suddenly immersed in the unified chaos. People of all colors, faiths, and ages filled the streets chanting, “No Hate! No Fear! Immigrants are Welcome Here!” It was a couple of minutes before I recognized what was taking place around me and comprehended the incredible photographic opportunity that had fallen into my lap.
Despite feeling overwhelmed by what was taking place around me, time stood still as I picked up my film camera and focused through my view finder. Certain faces isolated themselves amongst the young, the old, the angry, the joyful, the energized. I felt a huge sense of opportunity and responsibility to capture and document the passion and emotion of the atmosphere that day. I wanted to recognize the pain and the incredible will of people as they chanted and marched in the square, unified by their disgust and fear of this policy. Each person was fighting for what they believed in. You could feel it in their faces and words, and for that I am honored to tell their story.