Our Community Stands Together With Immigrants and Against Fear-NJ Editorial Photographer
My friends Jen, Becky, and others put together a peaceful Candlelight Vigil Honoring Refugees and Immigrants. A little over 100 people showed up, that’s huge since this only went out via email, social media and perhaps a few phone calls.
I quote from the description of the event:
“For much of its history, Bordentown has been profoundly impacted by immigrants. From the earliest days of Quaker settlement to the Irish and Germans who sought refuge and employment on the D&R Canal, to the many African-Americans who organized Bordentown as an Underground Railroad stop on heir journey to freedom, to families of all European heritage to more recent refugees from the Balkan wars; we have been welcoming to all.
In remembrance of those who sought refuge and endured persecution to make this nation great, and to recognize that the concern of refugees is still what brings this great community together, we would like to invite one and all to a candlelight vigil.
We plan to quietly and peacefully walk along the sidewalks of Farnsworth Avenue beginning at 6. We will gather at the Veteran’s Memorial on Farnsworth and Railroad Avenues, across from Boyd’s Pharmacy. Bring a flashlight, or a candle and be present to show that our community stands for inclusiveness and diversity.”
Many of my friends were out tonight, my friend and fellow photographer, Phil McAuliffe, played the guitar and sang accompanied by a flutist. We all sang This Land is Your Land and We Shall Overcome. People shared their stories and struggles, heartbreaking at times….
We are in times of uncertainty for our dear friends of different faiths and backgrounds. What the new White House Administration has done so far has been illegal and unconstitutional. We are better than what is happening and it is up to us to take a stand and make our voices heard and vote those people out. Enough is enough!
Being a person who is a photojournalist, I’m sometimes supposed to be neutral in my blog, however this is way out of control. My voice is my images, my audience is you. Hey, we’re all for having our great and vast nation safer! But they is not the way to do it, not even the governors of the states knew what was happening!
So these are just a few shots, that I took for my own, I’m not with a news outlet anymore. However, I need to be out there with my camera and let stories be told.
Rebecca speaking…
Jen speaking to the crowd gathered.
Bassam Rifai, a Syrian American for speaking this evening on the impact the recent executive order is having on people all across our country and the world.
Everyone walked around the block, from Farnsworth Ave, to Walnut St., Prince St. up Railroad Ave., and back to the Veteran’s Memorial on Farnsworth Ave. where we began. The Bordentown Police Department made sure we had a safe and peaceful vigil, thank you so much!
The children got up to start singing.
CALL TO ACTION – If you are in Congressional District 3 which includes Bordentown call Congressman Tom MacArthur and tell him how you feel about this issue. Demand that he get back to you about his position on this issue and make sure he knows you will be paying attention. His DC phone number is 202-225-4765 and his Marlton office is 856-267-5187.
Your Senators are Cory Booker and Bob Menendez.
Bob Menendez’s DC number is 202-224-4744 and local office is 973-645-3030
Cory Booker’s DC number is 202-224-3224 and local office is 856-338-8922
Put these numbers in your phone. Use them frequently. And join us when we visit their offices.
Not sure who your representatives are? Click here http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Linda Holt, author of the book, The Black Spaniard.
Thank you to all who allowed me to photograph this beautiful event in my hometown, especially with so many of my friends and our children. This is America, we all stand together to fight for what is right. Our town is used to being a part of history, looks like it’s time to get back in the game!
They were playing music from an iPod(I think) and Kid Rock’s Cowboy played twice. I thought it was funny, because I kind of like that song, but wondered what that had to do with anything.
The two people here in the middle were pretty cool to chat with, we spoke about music and I was digging her boots 🙂
All in all, it was very peaceful, some heated discussions, but that was to be expected.
A young man(he appeared to be of Latino background) from Georgia and this woman were having a discussion about slavery.
He then had to back off and Google 
Here she is with her three fabulous and beautiful friends, just like her 😀 You had just educated someone that day, remember that.
Don’s Johns were locked up in this area. You may have heard or read about someone covering up the logo for the 
People were leaving their signs in places to be noticed, in remembrance…
Mother and daughter….
The sun was setting, the clouds were grey, the light was fading fast. But my lens was fast as well to continue to capture this family in front of Abe Lincoln’s statue at the top of the stairs of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
These two best little girlfriends at the end of a long day with their signs.
The line at the Metro station in front of the Archives Building was long!
Can you see the people waay in the back? Yeah that’s part of the line.
I don’t know where to begin either….
But as a business, I do have to pay my taxes every quarter and every year….
The Onondowa’ga’ American Indians with the Onondaga Nation’s (“People of the Hills”) flag.
I managed to get inside the rally with my backpack, it weighed 25 lbs, on me it was huge, as I’m just 5’0 and around 100lbs. I was super polite and determined to get through the crowd. And then I came to a fence. No one would let me in because even though I had a press pass, I wasn’t able to get the Media Credentials. Security said that I should’ve gotten there sooner. Well I tried, but the crowds were crazy, my bus was parked in MD, and it took longer than expected to get there. I was upset, exhausted, sore and more than anything, disappointed. Disappointed because I wanted to do the very best job that I was asked to do, and I was sooo close to getting to the stage.
So I’m just standing there, catching my breath, figuring out my next move while taking some photos. I then hear a woman say to me, you’re making me feel uncomfortable. Thinking that I had hit her with my bag, I immediately said I’m sorry, that I was with an organization and was trying to do my job of documenting the event. I showed her my pass, and yet she kept talking….I’m very uncomfortable with you and your backpack…I’m still not getting it. I had not been able to eat lunch yet, so I said, I’m sorry what? She said, Boston? Backpack? You weren’t checked in by security, so I’m very uncomfortable with you being here. Once again, patiently I said, politely explained who I was with, etc., and she kept going on and on. Finally I was like, where can I go? You’re making me uncomfortable by saying these things to me, you know what’s uncomfortable? Carrying around my gear, all day, gladly, and not being able to go to a certain point to do my job! Then the other women around me started telling her to be quiet, and that I was just fine, and that we are all here to support one another. She finally stopped, but really there’s always one person….
As you can see, I was really close, and don’t think I wasn’t tempted to make a jump for it. But after much thought, I decided I needed to get out of there as the march was going to start really soon at this point.
So once again, I wiggled out of there, excuse me please, excuse me please, thank you, excuse me please, excuse me please, thank you, until I got out. My name that day was The Excuse Me Please Girl with the Big Camera Backpack….
Back on C St., everyone was filing out, and somewhere the march had started….
I loved this guy <3
Someone was listening to me…
I found another pile of steel to stand up on, so I climbed up and had fun!
This mother and her daughters were chanting, this is what Democracy looks like! This is what Democracy sounds like!
Entire families were there. My aunt, uncle, sister-in law and my niece were somewhere there too! I tried to find them, but phones, and connections didn’t work very well that day.
I loved how people would stop in front of me so that I could take their picture.
Many people were there from Standing Rock. By now I was hearing drums….
Love her sunglasses, Pink Batgirl!
Pure joy….
I actually ran into friends on this busy corner! The woman on the left wearing the green jacket is one of my daughter’s 
After eating, I made my way around, taking more photos….the march has pretty much ended it seemed in this area.
People on the stage were still speaking…
I just followed everyone and found great people and their signs…
I said something funny and wrong to get their reactions…
I took their photos with their cell phones, and then I took one with mine, an even trade…
Of course there was a group of extreme Christians, blaring Bible quotes into a speakerphone across the street. They kept turning up the volume. Everyone gets to have a voice 🙂 
I loved this sign that simply said…Ugh!
This young woman next to me was with her mom who was live Tweeting I think, was shouting out anti-Trump and positive women chants for the crowds. It was really great!
I personally love the Catholics For Choice group….
This was great! A pink pussy cat shaped like a traditional Chinese Dragon used to celebrate New Year’s.
I got my picture taken a few times too!
This woman stopped right in front of me so that I could take her picture, I didn’t have to ask her to do anything.
Part of our NJ group waiting in the ENORMOUS line in Maryland at the Metro station….
Listening to the live broadcast of Gloria Stein at the March on her cellphone during the few times we had service on the crowded Metro line.
Blessing of the flag….
As Julianna was preparing her needles, ink and machine, we caught up on what’s been going on. Our children go to the same school, I’m friends with one of her daughters and her husband Joe, also a 
After Julianna completed the gorgeous tattoo, she proceeded to clean up the work area. Everyone in the shop left for the day, so it was just us, chatting while I was taking pictures.
And then she let her beautiful red hair down….However this wasn’t working for me.
I wanted to see more of her neck tattoo that she had done by 
She moves like a dancer….
We moved to the work station, and I preferred this better.
The day after the Presidential Election, I was really feeling down and depressed. I’m still not okay, but that day I went for a 
I was bored one day, and needed to get out of the house. I did a model call on Facebook, and my clients gave me a call to photograph their new puppy. I had done their portraits before with all three of their Great Danes when they had their oldest, but unfortunately he passed away. They knew that his day was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier…I used two kinds of lighting with each image. The first, I adore the look George was giving his owner in the golden sunset light. In the second, I used 2 lights and in post I Photoshopped the leash out of the image, it gives him a regal look.
My dear friend Randy brought one of the
I love the look of the these headshots that I did in the park for my 
Our daughter is a Junior Girl Scout and every year, she and many other troops as well as Boy Scouts from all over, come together to place flags on the graves of veterans at the 
Many people were taking advantage of this opportunity to make some money. You could buy buttons while in line.
These guys were having pizza delivered and selling it with beer to those standing in line from their apartment stoop.
You could buy t-shirts.
We all loved this guy, he constructed a screw and sat on it with a sign that reads,”SCREW TRUMP”.
He was a big hit with everyone except the Trump protestors that came over and with their signs and screamed at us.
And then of course there were the extreme “Christian haters”, and I honestly have no idea why they call themselves Christians, because they go against everything that Jesus teaches about love and peace.
But like I said, overall, everyone was just happy to be there last night. We felt safe, not violated, not worried(at least I didn’t), I mean, yes, it was crazy crowded, but not out of complete control. No fighting, no craziness.
This young man in the wheelchair I think was trying to get in with a press pass of some sort….
These people were right behind us. At one point I broke away from my friends and went to wiggle my way to the protestors.
This little girl was singing about how we were all going to hell…it was very sad 🙁
This guy who portrays Jesus goes around Philly a lot…
Apparently Jesus is going to vote for The Don Trump…So that was the cause for a riled up discussion.
I got people to have fun for me in front of my camera.
Below is the artist who created these paintings of President and First Lady Obama and Madame Secretary Hillary Clinton.
These Don Trump supporters kept spewing their hate by driving by…
A very kind woman photographer who had a ladder lent me a couple of seconds and I managed to get this one image of President Obama during his speech.
Like a said, a lot of people brought their entire families with them and that was wonderful to see.
This little boy climbed the ladder too to see The President and Hillary Clinton, he was that excited to see them both, and he was only about 8 years old.
I made some new friends and we watched Hillary’s speech on Facebook Live 🙂
