'No more excuses, voting rights now!' Yolanda Renee King, American activist Martin Luther King Jr.'s granddaughter, shouted as she walked to the White House, holding hands with fellow activists. As Congress debated the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act, I witnessed many women stand at the forefront of the protests.
2022 was a huge election year in the United States, not least because the midterm elections will determine the control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Over two months, I interviewed 21 activists and produced a multimedia portrait series. The story included an Indigenous attorney in Colorado, a grassroots activist in Georgia, and a youth mayor in Washington, D.C. During the production process, I also created virtual portraits of activists who resided outside of Washington, D.C,.
Reverend Leslie Watson Wilson, the director of African American Religious Affairs at People For the American Way Foundation, stands for a portrait in front of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
Sabrina Khan, senior staff attorney and Deputy Director of the Voter Protection program at Advancement Project National Office, sits for a portrait at her house in Washington, D.C., on Friday, November 19, 2021.
Jana Morgan, the Director of the Declaration for American Democracy, stands for a portrait at Piney Branch Park in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, November 18, 2021.
Virginia Kase Solomón, CEO of the League of Women Voters, is reflected through a painting as she poses for a portrait at her house in Washington, D.C., on Friday, November 19, 2021.
Darkeysa Townsel and her daughter Zahnay Thomas, who travel from Michigan, poses for a portrait at a protest, Voting Rights Now!, in front of the White House after the protest in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
Activist Ría Thompson-Washington stands for a portrait at her house in Brandywine, MD, on Monday, November 29, 2021.
Youth mayor Addison Rose sits for a portrait outside her house in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, December 5, 2021.
Armani Eady, National Coordinator at Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, stands for a portrait at her office in Washington, D.C., on Monday, December 6, 2021.
Lena Taylor, a Senator from Wisconsin, stands for a portrait in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
Public Story
The Washington Post: Photos of 21 women voting rights activists