Mic Check: The Black Lives Matter Movement in New York City
Shouting “mic check” mobilizes protestors into a game of repeat-after-me, uniting the crowd and spreading the speaker’s comments and instructions without amplification.
We Will Not Be Silent, Union Square, New York City, November 25, 2014
On November 24, 2014, a Grand Jury absolved a white police officer of killing black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Two weeks later, a second Grand Jury in New York City’s Staten Island cleared white police officers accused of killing an unarmed black man named Eric Garner.
Following these decisions, the local protests that erupted in Ferguson and on Staten Island spread to cities and towns across the country. People took to the streets to protest against both the Grand Jury decisions themselves, as well as police brutality and racism in general. From these protests the Black Lives Matter movement was born.
Protest Sit-In, Forever 21, Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, December 6, 2014
Near Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, April 29, 2015
Midtown, Manhattan, New York City, April 29, 2015
Protestors Marching Past the New York Public Library on 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, April 18, 2016
The largest of these protests garnered huge amounts of media coverage. But there were also many smaller protests that received little to no media coverage. Following the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter as a starting point, I began to track and document both the large and small protests in New York City.
Protesters continued to take to the streets of New York for a long litany of names: Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Jamar Clark, Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher, Botham Jean, Stephon Clark, and Eric Logan to name just a few. The protests also included events to remember those from incidents before 2014, such as Eleanor Bumpers, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo.
A Bystander Photographing Protestors, Near Times Square, New York City, April 18, 2016
Malcom X Boulevard, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, March 20, 2017
But as the years went by, the sizes of the crowds at these protests dwindled and the media coverage of them had all but disappeared.
Then with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in 2020, caught in graphic video that spread like wildfire around the world, people were reenergized. Protests exploded across New York, the country, and the world. The deaths of Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake followed, and again mass crowds took to the street to call for justice and to change the system that allows these deaths to occur.
In April of 2021, Derek Chauvin was convicted for murder in the death of George Floyd, a rarity in that few police officers are punished for killing black and brown Americans. When the verdict was announced, people took to the streets to celebrate Chauvin's conviction. Then just a few weeks later protestors in New York City marched solemnly to mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder.
Grand Central Terminal, New York City, February 13, 2017
Protestors Outside the Offices of the NFL, Midtown, Manhattan, New York City, August 23, 2017
Police Trying to Keep Protestors from Leaving Union Square Park, New York City, August 13, 2017
Midtown, Manhattan, New York City, August 13, 2017
And now once again, the movement seems to be in a state of flux, and the streets are again quiet, at least for the moment. But I, and others, understand that the fight for Black Lives is not over. So I continue to pack my cameras and film and remain ready to continue to try and capture the first draft of the history of whatever the next chapter of movement leads to.
Protestors Gathering at the Time Warner Building, Columbus Circle, New York City, September 12, 2017
Penn Station, Manhattan, New York City, February 12, 2018
Columbus Circle, Manhattan, New York City, March 28, 2018
Protest for Botham Jean, Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, September 28, 2018
Grand Central Station, Manhattan, New York City, February 4, 2019
Marching Towards Time Square, Manhattan, New York City, March 10, 2019
Protest for the 4th Anniversary of the Death of Sandra Bland, Brooklyn, New York City, July 13, 2019
Eric Garner's Niece Shouting at the Police at the 120th Precinct House on the 5th Anniversary of Death of Eric Garner, Staten Island, New York City, July 17, 2019
Protestors March Through Times Square on the 5th Anniversary of the Death of Michael Brown, Manhattan, NewYork City, August 9, 2019
Protestors Confront Police on the 5th Anniversary of the Death of Michael Brown, Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, August 9, 2019
Protest Leader Speaking to a Crowd Gathered in front of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York City, May 30, 2020
Protestors Waving an Upside-Down American Flag, Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, May 31, 2020
Protestors Marching Down Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, June 19, 2020
Protestors Along Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, June 25, 2020
Protestors in the Streets over the Killing of Breonna Taylor, Midtown, Manhattan, New York City, September 23, 2020
Protestor Holds Aloft a Portrait of Breonna Taylor, Midtown, Manhattan, New York City, September 23, 2020
A Portrait of George Floyd during a march for the conviction of Derek Chauvin, Brooklyn, New York City, April 20, 2021
March for the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, Brooklyn, New York City, April 20, 2021
Protestors march across the Brooklyn Bridge on the One Year Anniversary of the Death of George Floyd, New York City, May 25, 2021