[Exposure] in Philadelphia

[EXPOSURE] on the Scene

2006-03-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

[EXPOSURE] photographers gather with police and television live crews at a North Philadelphia murder scene last week.

Meeting With Rose Cheney

2006-03-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Dr. Rose Cheney is the Executive Director of the Firearm Injury Center at Penn and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Surgery. I met with her Thursday afternoon for about an hour, and although she is extremely busy with proposals for gun injury programs she was genuinely interested in our project. I talked to her about the PIRIS program, or the Pennsylvania Injury Reporting and Intervention System that is at its end stages of creation, though yet to be implemented.

PIRIS is just starting up as an initiative with the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health and Representative Evans to create an effective identification system for gun victims admitted to the hospital between the ages of 15 to 24. Cheney wants to expand these ages, but with limited budget and resources, the most at-risk age bracket is the first step. Cheney stressed that the importance and uniqueness of PIRIS is the element of intervention as the goal, there is already injury reporting. Yet the data is not being put to good use.

The process that will begin mid-April if everything goes as planned is as follows: Each victim gets linked to a case managed at Philadelphia PHMC, who gets permission from the patient to give info that can be used to assess what the person needs for adequate rehabilitation. Then the person is connected with the resources they need according to data analysis. For instance, social workers, psychologists, and rehabilitation centers are all connected. She wants to expand it to people who aren't admitted to the hospital as well.

List of Organizations / Institutions apart of Collaboration:
Albert Einstein Medical Center
Temple University Hospital
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
State Department of Health
Trauma Centers (including Pennsylvania Trauma System)
Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC)
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB)

Cheney illuminated the topic, commenting that one cannot address gun violence as merely a cultural or social issue, that legislation itself is not the answer that many people would want it to be, and that at some point, youth started carrying around guns when a certain core group of people started carrying guns. She also wants to address the issues of those who have had brain injury and spinal cord injury, and what these mean for general health, and how it impacts and is impacted by their communities.

[Exposure] in Philadelphia

Police Funeral

2006-03-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

On the first day of our project, Officer Tyrone Talington was killed in a fire reported to be caused by his 13-year-old daughter. This tragedy reverberated throughout the city all week, with attention drawn to the horror of a daughter allegedly killing her father over disciplinary issues. She was arrested on Sunday night and will be tried as an adult for murder. Officer Talington's wife is also a police officer.

The funeral and viewing was held at the Mount Airy Church of God In Christ, on Ogontz and Stenton avenues on Friday afternoon. After checking out of our hotel around 12:30, Jim taught Jesse G, Nicki and I yet another skill necessary for successful news reporting. This is the ingenuity of arriving on the scene within a time frame most appropriate for divulgant and crucial pictures of an event. We got dropped off just as the funeral procession was leaving the church and driving slowly down the street. I managed to photograph the hearse adorned in flowers surrounded by police on motorcycles, and the reaction of the crowd on the street to the scene.
It was an interesting experience, because it shows how a reporter is not always able to spend the desired time at such an emotional event, due to scheduling and time constraints. At the same time, good planning can lead to powerful images without standing around waiting for shots in a press box. I would have wanted to attend the service and the burial because it would have made, in my mind, the complexity within the cycle of violence, more tangible.

- - Sarah J

[Exposure] in Philadelphia

Thursday and Friday Pictures with Captions

2006-03-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

Greg Thompson, he ran "Don't Fall Down in the Hood's" everyday operations, was in charge of classroom interaction and a very helpful and friendly man. Many of the young men in the program seemed to look up to him. He always dressed nice, (pinstripe suit) and had his Bluetooth phone in.

Forefront: Mothers In Charge member
Back: One of the leaders of Mothers In Charge speaks with Mark Harrell, director of Men United for a Better Philadelphia. Some of the collaboration necessary to remedy this problem is occurring in the picture, as many community groups attended a 'town hall meeting' to discuss the issue and hopefully collaborate and share ideas.

Will Little of Poetry in Emotion recites one of his poems, titled "Where Have All the Men Gone?" at the radio station meeting (all these pictures are from the same meeting)

A cop directs the funeral procession for another cop who was killed in a fire Monday, set by his daughter who will be charged as an adult (as reported).

- Jesse

Ernest Ford

2006-03-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I met with Ernest Ford, a victim of police brutality and freelance journalist. He came prepared for our interview with an arsenal of documents about his case, as well as several flyers for his bid as a state representative. Over my first Quiznos experience Ernest described the rally he organized to protest the choking death of Sharone Coachman by police officers. Sharone was an alleged drug dealer and was trying to swallow his evidence when reprimanded by the police. On July 2, 2005, the authorities broke up Ford’s demonstration against Sharone’s death and attacked Ford in the process. The police officers involved maintain that Ernest struck first.

Professor Washington put me in contact with Ernest to begin with and informed me that his case looks promising. Ford appears to have a solid complaint against the system and how he was treated this past summer at the demonstration, with videotape to bolster his argument. Updates will follow as Ernest's case unfolds.

--Jessie

P.S. If my posts on brutality, etc. seem irrelevant to gun violence, I'm interested in exploring the relationship between police authorities and the local community. The disconnect between them seems to eliminate a sense of security in the community-- This forces people to create their own atmosphere of safety, which often manifests itself in the form of buying guns.

6th Precinct Ride-Along

2006-03-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

I went on a ride-along in Philadelphia’s 6th precinct on Tuesday afternoon. This shift is largely known for its focus on parking violations and I was warned beforehand that the chances for excitement were relatively slim. Perhaps our afternoon was typical, but it was, to say the least, insightful as well.

An old limping man is walking through a development infamous for its crack dealers. A complaint about narcotics dealing surfaces on our police screen and we pull up alongside the man. My officer sarcastically asks why he is wandering around such a bad neighborhood. “Just passing through,” the man responds. The officer asks for some form of I.D. as the smell of gin diffuses into our car. While Waymund is remarkably articulate for his level of drunkenness, he has supposedly just lost his license; in lieue of documentation he quickly provides us with a name and birth date.

I watch my officer slowly type in Waymund’s name incorrectly and then bark at him for either lying or failing to have a valid I.D. in the state of Pennsylvania. They go over the name again and my officer unapologetically changes his spelling mistake. Still no name match. My officer asks again about his birth date: Waymund says March 28th and I watch the officer type in June 28th. Again, no results and hostility begins to creep into the police officer's voice.

« Why are you lying to me Waymund? »

« I’m not lying. My birthday is next week. »

« You told me June 28th? Now you’re changing your story Waymund. »

The birth date issue is finally resolved after a heated argument. Accurate information is finally typed in-- The results still yield no matches. Waymund is searched and the officer says that he appeared to have a crack pipe in his pocket but no drugs or cash. My officer gives him a hard time but Waymund is ultimately free to go. He hobbles back towards the homeless shelter where he is currently living and my officer launches into a tirade about the precinct’s homeless problem and the time that officer’s have to waste babysitting them.

Was Waymund just taking a walk or trying to buy drugs? Was he lying about his identity, and were the authorities justified in doubting his every word? More importantly, what kind of impression will this exchange leave on the eavesdropping neighbors? Based on this brief experience embedded with a police officer, the authorities seem jaded and the local community resentful. Right and wrong are blurred but there appears to be a definitive rift in the 6th precincts social fabric.

I thought I would put my pictures of Waymund in black and white since my afternoon ironically came off as anything but. While by no means a magic bullet, my afternoon’s conclusion is that more trust and less prejudice in the community are probably solid steps in the right direction for reducing gun violence.

--Jessie

Vigil

2006-03-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

Exposure covers a neighborhood vigil for a man murdered one year earlier in North Philadelphia.

Exposure Meets Tommy Gibbons

2006-03-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge)Tommy-Thomas J. Gibbons Jr.-is something of a legend among cops and journalists in this town. A former highway patrol officer who was shot in the line of duty before becoming a police reporter, Gibbons is a
pinstripe-wearing, tough-talking, old-fashioned pro who drinks Manhattans and calls everyone pal.

"Okay pal, what's shaking?" Tommy would say to me when he blew into the smoky, dirty press office first thing in the morning. "Let's rock 'n' roll."

After 32 years on the job, Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. recently retired from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He grew up around cops, looking up to his dad, who served as police commissioner in the '50s. But after graduating high school in 1962, he became a copy boy at The Evening Bulletin. He quit three years later, at age 20, to join the police force. After just five years he was shot on the job one night in West Philadelphia and almost died.

He eventually recovered, but was too weak to work as a street cop again. So he returned to the Bulletin in 1973, moving over to the Inquirer before the Bulletin went under in 1981. For most of his lengthy career he covered cops and has had to walk a tightrope, trying to be loyal to both his work and his cop buddies.

Men United's Streetcorner Outreach

2006-03-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

Exposure follows "Men United for a Better Philadelphia" on their weekly streetcorner outreach program, offering alternatives and support on the streets on North Philly.

Exposure Visits the Philadelphia Police Forensic Sciences Division

2006-03-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

Exposure Meets Eric Mencher

2006-03-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

Eric Mencher, staff photographer at The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1987, has covered regional, national and international assignments, including the civil war in Chechnya, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda and the post-apartheid era in South Africa. He also works on his own projects, exploring contemporary life in the United States, Cuba and Spain. He previously worked at The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune and the St. Pete Times.

Mencher is the recipient of the 1999 Overseas Press Club/John Faber Award for "Rwanda: Aftermath of Genocide." He has won international, national and regional awards including placing in World Press Photo, Best of Photojournalism and Pictures of the Year. His fellowships include a Penn State University Professional in Residence Fellowship, a Terra Fellowship from the Giverny Institute at the Museum of American Art, Giverny, France, and discipline winner, Pew Fellowships in the Arts.

He has exhibited in the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Constitution Center, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, Fototeca in Havana, Cuba, and various other galleries worldwide.

Mencher and his wife Kass have worked for over a decade on a joint photographic project, "Duets".

Long Days

2006-03-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

Shutting down after another 18-hour day.

Networking

2006-03-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Exposure meets Philadelphia Daily News writers and editors at Westy's.

Mission Control

2006-03-24T23:23:00.000-08:00

Macs, a DVD player and a digital projector festoon the project headquarters.

Exposure Meets Scott Flander

2006-03-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

Scott Flander, third from left, is a former Philadelphia Daily News police reporter and the author of two novels about the police in Philadlephia, "Sons of the City," and "Four to Midnight."

Exposure Visits the Firearms Identification Unit at the Philadelphia Police Forensic Sciences Division

2006-03-24T22:58:00.001-08:00

Crusing with Jim

2006-03-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was a very interesting day. Jim picked me up around 12:15 and offered to take me to a mini press conference about a drug bust that had occurred the previous night. I had an appointment at 1pm at the D.A.'s office in Center City with the director of the Families of Murder Victims Bureau (more on that later) but it seemed like a neat thing to add in. When we got there, Jim was initially disappointed because it was just the Captain of the district outside speaking to a few reporters--no mob of proud officers in uniform, no table piled high with drugs, no theatricality. We did get a look inside though, and I was able to photograph what they did have - three bags of heroin and the coffee grinder used to cut it. This was my first time seeing hard drugs like that in person--it was pretty incredible.

As we were getting ready to leave the Captain said "If you want some good stuff to see..." and gave us an address. He himself was running out the door, and though he wasn't explicit, Jim was sure he was headed to this "good stuff." We went to the intersection, and found what Jim called "a really big score."

Two days ago a man was shot twice in the back in the Northeast--Jim, Nicki, Sarah and I actually went to the crime scene (no worrries, the guy lived). That night there was a retaliation shooting, and then the next night, another. What Jim and I saw on Wednesday was the arrest of three high-up members of the Latin Kings gang, a former NYC Latino gang that controls parts of North Philadelphia. We watched as they stood against a wall with their hands bound together, we watched the cops frisk them and put them in the 'paddy wagon.' I got some great pictures, and Jim (as off-duty as he is) thought this was too good an opportunity to pass up and shot some himself.

That all happened in the course of an hour. This whole week has been pretty surreal, and really eye-opening. I've gained so much from these experiences.

And I think most urban-based crime movies have been ruined for me.

More to come...
--Jeff

Real Grassroots

2006-03-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night most of the group went out on a town walk with a group called Men United. Afterwards, Jim was surprised that some of us were not as scared as he had been during the walk. That's right, Jim, the guy who just spent a year in Iraq. But more on that later. First, a recap of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Each day I conducted two interviews, made many calls, and had a good amount of downtown. Tuesday I interviewed Community Relations Officer Moore in the morning and UPenn Professor Chris Koper with Jessie in the afternoon. Walking around Philadelphia with the group while going to and from these interviews has been relaxing. It has been nice weather, good people and a great atmosphere to work in. On Wednesday I interviewed South division Detective O'Brian and Ted Qualli of the Department of Human Services. I got good information but am learning, as usual, that the earlier you start interviewing the better, because every contact seems to have five more to help you out. Did I mention how much fun I think news reporting is?

So back to the walk. Men United is a group of men who are well educated, have a clear sense of social responsibility, and are dedicated to making the lives of their children better. Wednesday was their first time walking around the specific neighborhood, between York and Cumberland, that we walked through. After we talked to them for a good 45 minutes, we went out in two groups. Jim, Jesse, Jessie and Dave went with one group of members, and Sarah, Jeff, Jim's friend Alex and I went with Ray Jones, the co-founder of the group. I don't know how the first group's trip went, but as we walked with Ray, he confronted 95% of the people he met in the street and told them that Men United was here and was going to be around for weeks to come. He offered himself as a resource to the people of the neighborhood, and encouraged them to get discussions going about ending the gun violence. Most people skeptically thanked him but one group of children sang and mocked his effort. However, one guy seemed skeptically impressed by the offer. For the next month and a half, Men United will be knocking on doors in this neighborhood and showing people they care. Again, I've never seen a more impressive grassroots effort in my life.

We then walked to a vigil for a deceased resident. It was very touching to hear residents speak about him, but an argument at the end revealed two distinct mindsets that exist in these poor African American communities. One young woman started to blame the gun violence on government corruption. The Men United members that spoke at the vigil tried to calmly tell her that the people themselves need to help themselves out by helping the police fight the crime. Another woman in the crowd could not remain as calm. She was brought to tears as she yelled that it was up to the neighborhood to not blame others but to rely on themselves to lift themselves up out of such a horrid state. This blog can't express the feeling I felt when I saw her cry.

Friday was hectic, but should bring a lot of my stories together. But that's for another time.

-Marc

Pete Kane Meets Exposure

2006-03-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

Television news photographer Pete Kane, with NBC10 in Philadelphia since 1971, talks with Exposure students Tuesday night. Pete talked about his work, crime in Philadelphia, and told deeply personal stories of friends and relatives lost while he evaded the hazards of growing up in the inner city. Before he left, Pete gave us a quick peek at his live truck too.
Photo of Pete in the field by Joe Kaczmarek.

Introduction to Philly...

2006-03-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

To backtrack somewhat, prior to any true fieldwork we had some interesting preliminary discussion with Jim on safety and ethics relating to our work here and journalism in general. Quickly, surrounding central city of Philadelphia is a roughly donut shaped area where the safety of the turf can change block by block. More than most cities I’ve experienced the areas of both affluence and safety here seem to change rapidly and without order. In one particularly striking example a block of apartments are still being built and sold at a starting price of $200,000. Within a few blocks of these apartments more than four brutal homicides have occurred within the past few weeks.
Every night we have been meeting at Jim’s to eat together and meet some exceptional colleagues of Jims. The first night photojournalist April Saul came and showed some of her work, told the stories behind the images, and answered some of our questions. Warm and dedicated, April has pursued some of her stories for decades at a time through divorces, cancer, and even a tragic murder.
The second night David Maialetti came to talk with us, showing some great slideshows that seemed to focus on the lighter, more humorous side of photojournalism. Particularly interesting for me were his stories on roller derby girls and a recent story he did on Mardi Gras in New Orleans post-Katrina.
Today videographer Pete Kane came and candidly discussed the work he does and the street life of Philly with us. Growing up in the less affluent areas of Philly himself, Pete’s career has been motivated by a level of personal stake in these communities that is unrivalled. As he headed out, Jim and he joked about the number of times that Pete meets friends, old neighbors, and relatives on the job.
Today Dave and I rode around for a few hours cruising for news in typical Jim fashion- radios on the left side of the car blared citywide dispatch frequencies from the fire patrol, while police dispatches came from the right. We decided to visit a primarily Latino cemetery called Green Mount because of the mass number of young men buried there. The number of recent deaths shocked me. Unlike the grassy knoll I am used to seeing at a cemetery, here the brown earth of fresh burials scarred the hills.
After about 30 minutes of driving around we heard dispatchers communicating about an “exchange of fire” in the 26th (slang for the 26th district) in an area known as Northern Liberties. We ended up determining that there had been shots exchanged between the police and two suspects identified as wearing a red cap and white jacket. The two suspects fled in a green van and were pursued by the police. They left the van and ran on foot. When we got to the area where the van had been stashed we saw the police arresting a man who fit the description of the driver of the van.
But he ended up being negatively identified and released.
Yet another day in Philadelphia…

-Nicki

Temple's Linn Washington

2006-03-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Marc and I met with Temple University journalism professor Linn Washington on monday afternoon to discuss his research on police brutality and race issues within the criminal justice system. Linn is a columnist for the Philadelphia Tribune and a freelance journalist for publications nationwide. He received a B.S. in Communications from Temple University and then went on to earn a degree in law from Yale University.

Linn described the current climate of racial tension in Philadelphia's "hot spot" neighborhoods. Basically, Linn's stance was that racial profiling is being practiced but fails to yield results. It's this issue of trying to fit squares into circles--He sees racial profiling is a tactic for solving the class issue of gun violence with racial solutions. They don't match up, and consequently don't create change. He emphasized the need for economic empowerment, government funding, and accountability within the law enforcement realm. His anecdotes were sound and relevant, but I was found wanting for statistics and studies to back up all of his claims. Still, Linn was knowledgeable and I appreciated his honesty. He was candid about the levels of corruption and injustice in Philadelphia, while also admitting that police officers deserved a significant amount of credit for their work on curbing gun violence. Despite being passionate about racial injustice in the city, he was willing to confess that the issue was ultimately riddled with ambiguity and devoid of simple solutions.

--Jessie

Another Ride Along With Jim

2006-03-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today three of us rode out with Jim to a cold scene from earlier in the morning. When we arrived, three to four hours after the incident, there were still four news vans hanging around and many members of the community. It was an interesting scene. The crowd had apparently been very unruly when the media and police first showed up, with one camera man getting pushed and more police getting called. The emotion was apparently very high. The only noticeable fall out from this (other than the people already on the scene warning us) was crime tape very far away from the actual crime. I was still able to get some pictures as many people were hanging around, mingling and consoling. We're learning so much wherever we go, meeting fantastic people wherever we travel. Hints about how to approach a scene, watching Jim diffuse angry community members and connecting with cops for possible ride alongs all pop out of nowhere. I absolutely love the immersion we are getting, working literally 16 hours a day and not even realizing because everything we're doing is new, exciting, educational and varied. Following are some pictures taken at the scene.

PHOTOS:
- MUBP worker talking to the brother of the murder victim, believed to be a twin
- A Men United for a Better Philadelphia worker talking to a man at the crime scene
- Mother of the murder victim, crossing under the caution tape
-

jesse

Monday and the hood

2006-03-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

Monday was the first full day in the grind. On Sunday the group had gone to a church service during the day to make contacts with activist group members, and then stopped by an anti-war protest. The church service was also a rally against gun violence, but the fact that no adolescents attended was a striking flaw in the rally. The congregation was filled with adults and senior citizens. They already know the problems, so preaching to them isn't going to change anything.

Anyway, individual interviews started Monday. After an interview with Professor Linn Washington at Temple University, Jessie and I were introduced to Project Restart. We didn't get any pictures, unfortunately, but this project is well intentioned and great for the city. Every Monday afternoon outside the Philadelphia Free Library, volunteers serve hot food to the homeless. The people we saw, whether volunteering or just eating, seemed happy to be there. It was a very nice break from the rest of what we are experiencing. Professional soccer player Adam Bruckner organizes it, and also writes checks for the homeless so that they can get their birth certificates and apply for a job.

That evening, most of our group (unfortunately not Jeff) gathered to sit in on the "Don't fall down in the hood" program. This program, run by Greg Thompson, tries to put boys who have been charged with crimes on the track to safety and success. When a group of these boys entered, Thompson had them sit among out group, in every other seat. I initially thought that he was integrating us and trying to let peers from different backgrounds connect.

I quickly realized that I was wrong. When he spoke, he addressed only the Tufts students, ignoring the others in the room, and in fact speaking about them in the third person. Then he called up one of the local boys to the front of the room, and basically went through the criminal charges against him, as well as many aspects of his life. This kid was new to the program and may not have known what to expect. When he was spoken to by Thompson in front of everyone, his voice was mumbling and barely audible. I don't know the best way to deal with kids like this, but to be honest, I was, initially, slightly angered by Thompson's treatment of this kid. He could not have done a much better job of humiliating and embarrassing him in front of a group of strangers.

The reaction to Thompson's methods surprised me though. The majority of the kids who he exposed to the group did not seem at all embarrassed, and spoke rather freely. Again, I'm no expert in this type of psychology so I don't know how effective the tactic of humiliation is in a situation like this. Humiliation is something you hear about a lot when people try to justify, or at least explain, terrorism in the US and abroad. Thompson did admit that this humiliation may lead to some resentment among the kids, but he believes it's a tactic that is successful at breaking down destructive behavior.

There were a few other things about Thompson that bothered me at first, and would probably bother most liberals who aren't familiar with the situation here in inner-city Philadelphia. One of the kids, whose mother sat beside him while he was being questioned by Thompson, said he was not sure about whether or not he believed in god. At this point, Thompson's suggestions about following moral standards, became pleas to find morality through Allah (Thompson is Muslim). When I traveled to Mississippi in January, I saw first hand the strength that religion can give people. Ayn Rand followers who want to destroy religion in all forms are quite misguided. That said, so are those who want to destroy atheism in all its forms. As much as religion may help some people, by presenting it as the only way for one to improve his life, you take away an aspect of free will which can significantly affect a person later in life. In addition, Thompson lied to the kids about Marijuana, saying that it can affect one's offspring. Why couldn't he just talk about its real negative effects and treat the kids at least slightly like adults? Thompson did offer the incentive to the kids that if they straightened out he would not reveal everything he knew about their past transgressions in court. Taking risks for them this way probably shows he cares. I also thought it was interesting that when Thompson was picked up his cell phone during our meeting, one of the local kids did as well. This same kid had turned off his ringing cell phone earlier. There is something to the "lead by example" method.

Many of the kids kept a good humor about this, cracking jokes and being loud, as one would expect. They didn't seem to care that we were there, however they did act more serious and talk more quietly when one of us would start chatting with them. Thompson thinks that when they are not in a group setting they act like "lambs". On an interesting side note, a lot of the kids have tattoos, and one of the louder ones had "MOM" tattooed on his hand.

During one of Thompson's interrogations, a kid revealed the name of someone he bought a previously stolen car from. At the mention of this name, half the kids in their rooms shook their heads and seemed to disapprove that the name was revealed. This is the "stop snitching" attitude that pervades this culture. I worry about the kid who revealed this name. The stolen car dealer probably owns a gun, and may be violent. People have been killed for much more trivial reasons.

-Marc

David Maialetti Meets Exposure

2006-03-20T23:17:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia Daily News photojournalist David Maialetti presents his work for Exposure in Philadelphia Monday night. David holds the Gordon Parks Award, World Press and National Headliner Awards, numerous NPPA and Pennsylvania Awards, including multiple honors as the Pennsylvania Photographer of the Year.

Victim of Gun Violence

2006-03-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Necklace worn by the mother of a 14 year old boy who was the victim of gun violence.

Photograph by Isabelle Mills-Tannenbaum.

Introduction

2006-03-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

A formal introduction hasn't really been posted so here is something along those lines. This is a photojournalism workshop being led by Philadelphia Daily News photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner Jim MacMillan. The eight Tufts students participating are Jessie Anderson, Jeff Beers, Jesse Gossett, Sarah Jacobson, Isabelle Mills-Tannenbaum, Dave Pomerantz, Marc Raifman and Nicki Sobecki. All projects focus on gun violence. I could tell you what the individual focuses are, but I think I'd rather make you read the final product and find out for yourself. The workshop is sponsored by the Institute for Global Leadership and EXPOSURE, and was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Tufts. Thanks to all who are helping to make this into a reality.

First Night: Scene of a Double Homicide

2006-03-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night Dave Pomerantz and I were lead by Jim's friend and photographer Joe Kaczmarek, and spent a few hours at a crime scene of a double homicide that occurred around 11. We were thrown into the thick of it. We saw cameramen taking pictures of and interviewing the victim's cousin. She was hysterical at times, but calm and cooperative at others. Sadly, she seems to have gotten used to this type of press, as tragedy has become a consistant part of her life. This was her second cousin to die from gun violence in a week. When we asked her if she was angry at those who wouldn't come forward and help police catch the criminals, she said she wasn't. Why is she so understanding of those who don't step up to save the lives of her loved ones? More on that later.

We also got to see Joe talking with police officers. He is extremely good at his job in part because of how close he is with the officers running the crime scenes. He understands them and they trust him. I expected them to get defensive when they saw me writing in my notepad, but Joe's presence, I suspect, made them believe that nothing they said would be put in print. I still couldn't get their first names though. It's unbelievable how much off the record discussion they have about these issues in front of photographers like Joe and Jim. Just being there, it's easy to get a sense of what the problems are. The challenge is to prove it officially on the record.

When Joe told one police officer we were "researching gun violence," the cop laughed. I got the impression that he sees the problem as unsolvable. The only joking suggestion he offered to us, of course off the record, was that the city give everyone a gun and see what happens. Cops and photographers alike are fully desensatized to death in these areas. The cops knew the victims and there was still plenty of laughter.

So what are the problems as recognized by the police? There are many. The poverty of course plays a role. The fact that people are afraid to testify on murders for fear of revenge play a role. On a side note, one officer said that the citizens hate police, and the citizens in these areas may feel the same way about the police. More on this later. Getting back to it, the spreding thin of police patrols in these areas plays a role. Easy access to guns plays a role. The most widely agreed upon idea was that this was a block to block battle. People frim one street hate people from another, and petty quarrels turn deadly. This is not exactly gang wars, but people may die more often than if it were. I could go on, but these are a few main ideas that are encompassed by the general opinion of police and media people alike, although there is real variation over which factors are most important.

Later on, we spoke to another upset woman, a neighbor of the victim. Slightly reluctant to talk to us, she initially reiterated many of the grievances of the first woman we spoke to. "I'm so tired," she said. She was tired of having to walk around crime scenes and dead bodies. When asked if she knew who was doing this, she said that she did not, and that if she did, she would reveal it in a heartbeat. What happened next was one of two things that surprised me that night. She pulled Dave and I aside, and told us the name and address of a man who she claimed ran the drug trade and was responsibile for the organization of the double homicide. The mentality seems to be that if you snitch, you are next, and her courage is something to be admired. When we told the police what she told us, I was surprised for the second time. The officer noted it, said he knew who the guy was, and shrugged saying "that guy is untouchable." This surprised me because not long before, the same police officer had told me that it's frustrating that nobody in the community tells them anything. The police (a majority of which are white in an almost all black neighborhood) think that the people hate them and won't tell them a thing. One cop told us that after he chased and tackled a suspect, he was yelled at by a group of neighbors. As some of them see it, these neighbors who complain about gun violence, do nothing to help the police get rid of it. At the same time, here is a clear example of a community member risking the safety of her and her family (she had three possibly adolescent children walking around with her that night) and the police may not even be able to help. The police can't help because without testimony, the court can't find the culprit guilty. The community members can't help because if they do, they get shot. Police and community members can work together, but as usual they are both inhibited, justly or not, by those they have to answer to.

Oh yeah, one more thing that surprised me. The double homicide occurred when a 38 year old man and an 18 year old girl were shot through a car windshield by two different guns. The girl was shot 18 times.

When we left they called to Joe to "seeya at the next one." Quite a night.

-Marc Raifman

My Next Blog: Meeting with the "Don't fall down in the hood" organization and adolescents who had been charged with crimes.

Saturday's Activities

2006-03-20T05:31:00.000-08:00

A boy from an anti-war protest that we visited briefly.

Stopping Traffic! event at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Reformation. CeaseFire PA, CeaseFire, NJ, Lifeline Music
Coalition, Arpeggio Trio and Voices of a Different Dream were there. Go to the website at: http://www.uurestoration.us/.

Photographs by Isabelle Mills-Tannenbaum.

April Saul meets Exposure

2006-03-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Photographer April Saul

April Saul joined The Philadelphia Inquirer's photography staff in 1981, after a year at the Baltimore Sun. She specializes in documentary photojournalism, and was the first recipient of the Nikon/NPPA Documentary Sabbatical Grant for her work on Hmong refugees in 1985.

Over the last 25 years, she has won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the World Press Photo Budapest Award for Humanistic Photography. She has been named Photographer of the Year by the Northern Short Course, the Pennsylvania Press Photographers Association and the New Jersey Press Photographers Association.

Saul was a Pulitzer Finalist in 1987 and 1994 for Feature Photography, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1997 as part of a team on a series about dying with dignity.

She was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. An English major, she graduated from Tufts University and went on to receive an M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota.

First Night in Philadelphia: Double Murder

2006-03-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

Marc and David visit North Philadelphia crime scene after a man and woman were shot to death in a pickup truck. A third victim, an off-duty Philadelphia Police officer was murdered at home a few hours later in an unrelated incident.

Photos by Joe Kaczmarek

Sunday

2006-03-19T20:24:00.001-08:00

Today was our first full day in Philadelphia. We started the morning off by watching the news, where the double homicide that Dave and Marc went to last night was barely given any attention. Then it was off to the Daily News office. The vibe there was pretty amazing--There were dozens of phenomenal photographs lining the walls (several with Jim's name underneath) and I was definitely intimidated at first-- then we met some of the staff and they were incredibly down to earth. I really liked getting a glimpse of the newspaper office atmosphere, especially considering that it was the first time I've ever found cubicles appealing.

Around 2:30 we headed over to a gun violence rally at a suburban Unitarian church. A live jazz band played before intermission and there were these old men had more soul than anyone I've ever seen. Their energy gave the gun violence rally its backbone and it was great talking to the musicians later on. They were passionate and eccentric, which is always a great combination. The state rep promoting home rule was there too and I had a long conversation with him about what should be done about the current legislation that isn't being enforced. In typical politician fashion he was charismatic, personable, and avoided directly answering my question. The man next to him started going on a rant about how guns should be completely outlawed, and why kids are packing heat nowadays. They were all characters, but characters deeply invested in reducing gun violence in Philadelphia. Overall, the level of concern was pretty inspiring.

We went to the anti-war rally in central city and it was depressingly small. Also, very cold. After awhile we headed back to Jim's apartment and met April Saul. She was quirky and friendly as hell, which was a pretty stark contradiction to the body of work she showed us. The longevity of her projects was amazing, as well as the painful topics she has dealth with. She has this ability to intertwine her work and her private life by maintaining long term relationships with all of the people in her projects. I honestly felt like this added to the power of her photographs. They were incredibly intimate and it was almost as if she was part of the core instead of photographing everyone's lives as an outsider. Absorbing everything she showed us rendered me relatively speechless for a bit. Her respect for everyone and her investment in their lives was extremely impressive. I feel like her pictures transcended just showing pieces of their lives-- there were emotions mingled with a shared history that made everything even more beautiful.

-Jessie