Worker's Over Billionaires protest, Labor Day, Taos, NM, Sept. 1, 2025.
Arresting street theater where locals dressed as prisoners as if taken by ICE, with handcuffs and the American flag.
For me, this image stands for ALL the recent protests documented in this series, from June through September 2025, in Taos, New Mexico.
Resist! Mobilizing in Taos, New Mexico
Susan Ressler | NM, United States
Photographer: Susan Ressler
Exhibit Title: Resist! Mobilizing in Taos, New Mexico
Location: NM, United States
As resistance to the repressive US Trump policies has ramped up this summer, I've been photographing protests where I live, in Taos, New Mexico. This series covers four protests from June - September 2025: "Hands off Public Lands" (June 7), "No Kings Day" (Flag Day, June 14), "Free America Rally" (Independence Day, July 4), and "Workers over Billionaires" (Labor Day, September 1). And there will be more in the coming months!
These protests are a crucial mobilization taking place all over the country, as well as abroad. We have formed one of the most progressive social movements of all time: fighting social inequality, abuses towards immigrants, women's rights, those struggling to get by and the privatization of our land, our forests, our parks and monuments and more.
These egregious and oppressive policies will not be tolerated. We must stand up for our rights and keep democracy alive, as a shining beacon of hope and peace throughout the world.
Over a half century ago as a college student in the 1960s, I began documenting and questioning the world with my camera. What was at first an innocent response to what caught my eye, soon became a passion to inspire awareness and action. To this day I am a “concerned photographer” –– concerned with social justice and making this world more equitable for all.
Based in Northern New Mexico, having lived in Taos for most of my life, I was born on the US East Coast and was raised in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs in an upper middle class family. Recognizing that privilege has been key to developing an awareness and empathy for those who are struggling to get by and dealing with hardship today.
My friend Steve Zeifman, who runs Rush Creek Editions in Santa Fe had this to say about my work: "With a career spanning over 50 years, her work captures the intersections of identity, class, and power with a sharp critical eye and enduring humanity."
I couldn't have expressed it better, except perhaps in my photographs.
sresslerphoto@gmail.com
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