Scott Olson captured the protesting of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri through a collection of pictures. Witnesses came forward claiming that Michael Brown’s hands were up when he was shot while raising one’s hands is a universal symbol of surrender. The death of Michael Brown transformed the slogan “hands up, don’t shoot” into a powerful and nationally recognized symbol. Eventually, in demonstrations and protests it began to symbolize more than just the death of Michael Brown, but also the mistreatment of minorities by police. By looking at the photos entitled, “In Search of Justice”, “Lesley Mcpadden”, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”, and “Congressman and the Captain” in the photo essay in Ferguson, Uncensored we can see that the visual motif of the protestors raising their hands in the air shows the strength and determination of the people of Ferguson. 

In the background of the picture entitled, “In Search of Justice”, several African Americans have their hands raised in protest. Olson wanted to capture this moment while everyone had their hands raised in unison, all protesting the mistreatment of minorities by police, especially the death of Michael Brown. The African American in the middle, is yelling in a megaphone and the person to his right is yelling also, the anger in their face is clearly visible. This is demanding the audience to connect with the people in the picture and feel the emotion that they are showing. The man on the far left of the picture is holding a sign with “MIKE WHITE MURDERED MIKE BROWN WE NEED JUSTICE” written on it. The words displayed on this sign convey the underlying sentiment of anger fueled by race related hate and mistreatment. The white is a reference to a white cop who killed man of color. Olson had a specific purpose for capturing all these things in one shot was to show the anger and the passion of the protestors, and have the audience feel what the protestors felt. The visual motif of raising the hands ties together the picture. It helps bring the message that African Americans are being mistreated by police and that the protestors are finally taking a stand. 

In the picture entitled “Lesley McSpadden”, Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, raises her hands in the air as a form of protest in the Greater St. Marks Family Church. She has tissues in both of her hands and looks as if she has been crying. There is a man behind her with one hand on her back and his other hand in the air. The wooden cross is blurred in the background but still positioned in the shot. This creates an emotional connection with the audience so they believe that Lesley McSpadden went to church for emotional support. Lesley raises her hands in this picture in honor of her son. She is obviously emotional in this picture and the fact that she is standing strong with her hands raised in protest, makes the audience feel not only sympathetic towards her but also makes them feel amazed that even after the loss of her son she can stand strong and protest on behalf of her son and all the other African Americans mistreated by the police. 

The picture entitled “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”, shows one African American standing up to a group of police officers. The African American man has his back faced toward the camera and the group of police officers are facing toward the camera. The African American man has his hands up in the air like he is surrendering to the police officers that have their guns facing him. Since the man is alone and is outnumbered by the armed police officers, the audience is forced to think that the police are being over dramatic by having their guns facing one guy who has his hands raised, surrendering. To add to this effect, “Fuck the Police” is written on a mail box in the right side of the picture. Olson wanted to have this in the shot because it is representing what is happening in the picture, not only does the man have his hands raised surrendering to make sure he doesn’t get shot but he is also raising his hands in protest. His feet are positioned like he is walking toward the police even though they have their guns facing him. He is walking toward them with his hands raised to protest the mistreatment of minorities by police officers, which is basically him saying “Fuck the Police.”

In the picture entitled “The Congressman and the Captain”, Congressman Lacy Clay and Captain Ronald Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol are speaking to demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri. In the picture the congressman and the captain both have very stern facial expressions. Since they are both men of power it is only fitting that they are very serious and stern about the protests in Ferguson. In the back of the picture, protestors raised hands are barely visible. Olson wanted to capture this stern facial expression on the two men of power and the hands in the background to paint a picture of how dedicated these protestors are for this cause. Even though men of power, like Congressman Lacy Clay and Captain Ronald Johnson, are obviously trying to break up the protests and calm the protestors down, they still continue to keep their hands raised, fighting for their cause. They want to be heard. 

The visual motif of the raised hands repeats throughout multiple pictures in Scott Olson’s collection of images taken in Ferguson, Missouri. In these selection of pictures, the raised hands show the strength and the determination of the protestors. Like Michael Brown’s mother raising her hands in protest despite the emotional struggle she is dealing with after losing a son. She sees the greater picture, that her son was mistreated by a police officer because of his race. She raises her hands not only for her son but for every other person of a minority that has been mistreated by police officers because she does not want this mistreatment to continue. This is also shown in the picture of the African American man with his back facing the camera with his hands raised. Despite the danger he is facing by walking toward the group of police officers with their guns pointed directly at him, he does it anyways with his hands raised. He is basically saying “Fuck the police (like what is written on the mailbox) I will not be silenced.” He is showing his strength and his courage along with his determination to stop this mistreatment, by risking his life to demonstrate his point. This “I will not be silenced” theme is displayed again in the picture of the congressman and the captain. The protestors in the background keep their hands raised in protest despite the efforts made by the captain and the congressman to settle the protestors down. Those protestors are showing their determination and courage that even though they know they could get into trouble they continue to protest anyway.  Lastly in the background of the picture of the group of people protesting, all the protestors have their hands up. Many people are also yelling too or holding up signs. This group of protestors with their hands up, show that there is strength in community. The minorities are fighting back, they refuse to be silenced and sit back while they get mistreated by police officers. 

Without the visual motif, these pictures wouldn’t be as effective. The collection of images wouldn’t demand the audience to feel what the protestors are feeling or to recognize the strength and determination that they have. Scott Olson took these pictures so that specific visual elements would be in the shot, influencing the audience’s perception of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Not only did the visual motif of the protestors raising their hands, create depth to the picture but it also forced the audience to view these protests from the protestors point-of-view. “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” is so much more than just a slogan and a protesting symbol demonstrators use, but a symbol of strength and determination in a group of people.
