Protest Fashion

In 2020 a deplorable act which occurs with far too much frequency in America was recorded and led to protests across the US, across the pond and beyond. My first experience with this type of protest was Rodney King and the L.A. riots – a city where this type of brutality had been occurring for years. From then to present times police carry out these extrajudicial killings of mostly black men with impunity. Whilst we acknowledge this also happens to other races and genders – Latino, White and Asian – the overwhelming majority of the victims are black. As an International I cannot express how demoralizing this is plus the toll it takes on us emotionally coupled with the stress of dealing with racism on a daily basis. I have had the pleasure or rather displeasure of dealing with it in each country in which I have resided or spent extensive time – various parts of the States, the UK, Ireland, and Italy and also to see how it works as colourism and colonial effects in Jamaica. The George Floyd killing led to a quick trial and a conviction however these are still rare and often times the officer is fired and rehired by another county or precinct and often just goes back to work after a period of time on administrative leave.

This matter is a lengthy discussion. This article celebrates the work of Photographer Fran Hales and some of the beautiful images she has captured from protests in the UK. Fran is a Kiwi, based in London where she has resided for over 20 years.

www.franhales.com

Instagram @fh_photos