A beautiful mix of micro-blog and documentary photography, Humans of New Yorkhas redefined and uplifted the power of compelling portraits coupled with personal stories. Over 16 million Facebook followers agree -- the photo stories make us laugh, cry, or motivate us into action, but mostly, the photographs make us experience the humanity of the people of New York and beyond.
This past week has been especially telling, profound and heart wrenching. HONY photog has been sharing stories of people who are incarcerated in five different federal prisons across the Northeast -- including Manhattan and Brooklyn. Given thestaggering number of people who are incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses, there is an overwhelming mix of men and women profiled in the series that struggled with addiction and poverty, and are serving unconscionable sentences.
For a better look at the collection that focuses on people and the Drug War, check out this video created by NowThis:
Humans Of New York Shares Stories From Inmates Affected By The...
Humans of New York is telling the stories of inmates serving time because of non-violent drug offenses
Posted by NowThis on Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Some of photos below feature mothers and fathers who have lost everything, indicating how absolutely imperative it is that we continue to work to end America's failed war on drugs. Read through the entire series here.
“I’m sixty-two now. I have three more years. I sold heroin. A lot of it. I had forty people working for me. If you...
Posted by Humans of New York on Friday, February 12, 2016
“This is my fifth time in prison. Every crime I’ve committed has come from my addiction. Best case scenario is I get...
Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, February 4, 2016
“I was alone with four kids. My mother was sick. I was making $500 a week working at a restaurant in Harlem. This...
Posted by Humans of New York on Monday, February 8, 2016
“I was a good student. I did football, karate, basketball, all sorts of activities. I never skipped school. I first...
Posted by Humans of New York on Monday, February 8, 2016
Melissa Franqui is the communications coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance (www.drugpolicy.org)
This first appeared on the Drug Policy Alliance Blog: http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/humans-new-york-photo-series-exposes-lives-shattered-drug-war