Cities across the US are burning. A profound pain and anger, stirred by video of the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer demanded a coming together on the streets of hundreds of cities, even in the time of Covid-19. For 8:46 minutes, with a knee on his neck, Floyd begged for his life, and was ignored. It’s haunting, enraging, brutal and unjust. Floyd is one of a long line of unarmed black men and women killed by police, and people are rising up in solidarity to demand a stop to police brutality and a soul searching exploration of racism and white supremacy.

Most protesters in cities and small towns across the US wanted to peacefully make their voices heard. A small number of agitators set fires that burned down a police station and small businesses. Others looted chain stores and supermarkets. The crackdown by police was swift, impacting not only the looters but the peaceful protestors who were fired on with rubber bullets and pepper spray.

In the small city of Easthampton, MA, the pain and rage was expressed more quietly than in many other places. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and Police Chief Robert Alberti joined town residents in taking a knee for 8:46 seconds yesterday. People gathered in small groups at the Public Safety Complex, the rotary, the pond, the high school and Eastworks, a mill that houses the apartments and studios of artists and artisans. Later, people gathered for a solidarity vigil on the green in the center of town.

There was much Facebook debate about whether the response was enough, some asking people not to attend anything that the police were involved with, others stating that this was a beginning of a journey, a first step.

I called a number of photographer friends in town and we spread out to document what was happening in the different locations. Henry Amistadi and I went to where the mayor and police chief would be, Sandra Costello headed for the center of town, Tracey Eller went to Eastworks, and high school student Elly Gomez documented the ‘socially distanced’ kneeling event at the high school. Julian Parker-Burns, an artist in town, added his photos to the mix. The pooling of visions has reminded me of earlier times in my life, when as a photojournalist at the Hartford Courant, there was a great deal of collaborative work. I miss being part of a creative community, and this process has sparked a yearning for more of it.

Here is a multi-media piece I created using all of our work, and the soulful music of Carl Clements, who played in the gazebo at the 5 pm rally last night.