After Mike Brown, an unarmed black teenager was shot twice in the head by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, the people of Ferguson were left outraged with law enforcement.  Ferguson’s streets were filled with protestors, and along with the protesters came plenty of police force.  The police immediately looked to silence the protestors, as they were protesting against the police themselves.  This caused the separation between the people and the police to only grow more, as people were injured, properties were ruined, and people’s rights were completely ignored and violated.  In Tim Dickinson’s photo essay Ferguson Uncensored, Dickinson uses photos from Getty Images to show what happened in Ferguson. By looking at Ferguson Uncensored the reader can see how Dickinson contrasts the innocence of the protestors with the extreme aggression of the police, in order to show how far out of line the police were. 

The first image shows just how peaceful the protesters are.  It shows a crowd of black protesters standing in the rain with their arms raised.  The lens is focused in on one man specifically, whose face shows nothing but peace.  The purpose of focusing in on one single person is to allow the journalist to represent the rest of the large group.  The man in the photo has his arms raised out wide over his shoulders, similar to the way Jesus is depicted on the cross.  This makes him a symbol of peace.  The rain falling down over him also can have religious connotation.  In Christianity, water is used to cleanse someone from their sins, part of why babies are baptized.  Similarly, the rain is doing that in this picture.  Also, his head is bowed and his eyes are closed, both of which are commonly observed when people are praying.  The image is supposed to remind us of the innocence of the people of Ferguson.  Dickinson chose to use symbols of Christianity specifically because Christianity is the dominant religion in America.  This make it easier to connect with the average reader.  

Another way Dickinson reminds us of the innocence of the people of Ferguson is children.  The eighth picture shows a young African American girl in the arms of a woman, most likely her mother, while she is covering her mouth with a rag. The caption tells the reader that the rag is being used to protect her from the tear gas.  The photographer chose a very cute young girl with big eyes and colorful hair ties in her hair.  This is once again to play on the reader’s emotions.  In American society, a child and especially a girl, should never be in such a dangerous situation.  Another aspect of this image is that the photographer didn’t chose to show the adult holding the child.  This reaffirms the vulnerability of the child.  Likewise, the people of Ferguson are in a very vulnerable position when police are using tear gas and assault rifles to interrupt peaceful protests.  Another feature of the shot is the bright light behind the little girl’s head.  The light could be seen as a halo which shows her purity and innocence.  Also heaven is generally represented as a very bright place.  This could show the people of Ferguson’s need for someone to (ironically) protect them from the police.

Dickinson does much more in this photo essay than just depict the protestors as innocent. The innocent portal of the protestors is completely juxtaposed with the extreme aggression of the police.  Once again, the photos were chosen to show just how much force the police were ready to use, and the victims of the police's aggression. Image twelve shows a woman in severe pain after being attacked with tear gas courtesy of the police.  Symbolism of Christianity can also be seen in the way the woman is holding her hands together with her eyes closed looking up, very similar to how someone would pray.  Once again this appeals to readers, and there is also a strong chance that she was literally praying because of the amount of pain she was in. The water being poured once again draws similarity to water’s role in Christianity of being able to wash away sins.  This picture shows us just how far the police went. The police put this woman, and many more citizens, in severe pain not because they were in danger, but because they didn’t like the message of the protestors. 

The purpose of Tim Dickinson putting together Ferguson Uncensored was to show Americans and people all over the world that what’s happening in Ferguson is because of the police and the current tensions between them and the black population in Ferguson. The violence, the protesting, the raiding of shops and destruction of property has been caused by the police. It was important for this essay to be put together because it shows people who take the side of the police, or people who take the side against black people, how things actually are in Ferguson. After seeing these images, it is very hard to deny the police are wrong. To help ensure this Dickinson uses pictures that portray the protestors as innocent and peaceful and the police as violent and aggressive.  And he used society’s general association of certain symbols to make sure these connections would be made.
