Citizen Protection Line from North to South, on North Avenue at Pennsylvania Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, April 28, 2015
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HOLDING THAT LINE, PART TWO
Earlier that day, I photographed the Baltimore protests at North Avenue & Pennsylvania Avenue. I was struck by the line of police blockading the street and made a portrait of each of the 27 officers that comprised the human wall, seeking a measure of accountability in the absence of badge numbers or nameplates.
That evening, I went back, and there were 26 citizens forming a human wall, separating the crowd from the police, to protect the crowd from provoking a police response. Someone kept calling out, "Don't give them an excuse to hurt us." My heart was heavy all day but lifted at this spirit of self-sacrifice and generosity.
I made a portrait of the 22 citizens that gave their permission.
