America vs America
Kevin McKeon | New York, United States
Photographer: Kevin McKeon
Exhibit Title: America vs America
Location: New York, United States
The Trump Administration has brought profound changes in America’s political system and what we, as Americans, can expect from our leadership and our place in the world. Mass firings at government agencies; arrests and deportation of immigrants; attacks on education, free speech and the judicial system; dramatic cuts to social services and aid programs... … the list goes on. But the rise of Donald Trump has also given rise to a growing tide of resistance throughout the country. As a result, the United States seems to be on a collision course between the America we thought we knew, and the America that Donald Trump envisions for himself and his enablers.
The protests represented in this exhibit, taken over the course of 8 months in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., span a wide range of grievances and demands, as the Trump Administration's attack on democracy widens. I plan to follow the resistance to its conclusion as America determines its fate.
I’ve been shooting protest marches and rallies for much of the past five years, beginning with the Black Lives Matter uprising in June 2020. I decided early on that my approach would be equal parts participant and photojournalist. Across more than 100 rallies over this time, I’ve tried to look past the often-clever signs and find a more human story in the faces and complex emotions of the people that surround me – as I march and chant and listen and learn. My current focus, which began in the final days leading up to Trump’s inauguration, is the public resistance to the cruel and often unlawful acts of the current administration, during this defining time in American history.
I hope my photographs communicate to all those who have never been to a protest march not just what happens at these events, but what it feels like to be there in the middle of it; to be part of the experience, to know the outrage, the anger, the hope, the joy. I hope that when people view my photographs, they gain a broader, more nuanced understanding of what it means to engage. I hope they not only see the moment, but feel it. And feel compelled to be a part of it.
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