Editor's Note: On May 25th, in Minneapolis, George Perry Floyd Jr. was killed by the weight of a police officer’s knee on his neck. By May 27th, protests were being organized nightly in Memphis. Despite the appearance of police in riot gear and the National Guard in armored vehicles, the protests in Memphis remained peaceful. After a window was broken in one Downtown Black-owned business, Winfield’s Shoes and Accessories, activists raised funds in a drive organized by Keedran Franklin to repair the damage. Since then, protests have spread to Midtown and the suburbs as activists advance a nationwide reckoning about racism, policing, and injustice. These images, beautifully captured by Maya Smith and Noah Stewart, help tell the story. — Anna Traverse Fogle
photo by maya smith
At a June 8th rally organized by the Poor People’s Campaign at the site of the 1866 Memphis Massacre, Rev. Regina Clarke led a prayer, then called on the country to stop “all forms of systemic racism.”
“We see the violence of injustice, we see the violence of racism against Black people, Latinos, First Nations, and people of color. We know this violence is a threat to all humanity in this yet to be perfect union.” — Rev. Regina Clarke
photo by noah stewart
“I wanted my pictures to show the emotion that many African Americans and allies were feeling in the wake of George Floyd’s death,” says photographer Noah Stewart. This image, taken in early June, shows a Memphis police officer addressing a crowd of protesters.
“If we walk around with a hammer of mass incarceration, everything looks like a nail of Black criminality. #AllBlackLivesMatter” — Rev. Earle J. Fisher @Pastor_Earle
photo by noah stewart
In early June, protesters gathered nightly in Downtown Memphis to speak out against the persistent, systemic failures that resulted in the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many more Black people through the years.
“Black lives matter because we built this city and this country, but still this country wants to disrespect our lives.” — Frank Johnson, Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church
