On Aug. 19, the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), I walked into the United Center not quite sure what to expect. It was my first time photographing a big national news event. The pressure of getting the perfect shots and telling a compelling story felt even higher with Vice President Kamala Harris set to become the first Black and Asian-American woman to lead a major presidential ticket.
Although I’ve been photographing with The TRiiBE as a freelancer since the summer uprisings following the police murder of George Floyd uprisings in 2020, I joined the team as art director in fall 2023. I don’t come from the photojournalism world. My background is in event photography and portraits. Although I’ve photographed celebrities, concerts, protests and even the election of Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2023, prior to joining The TRiiBE, the biggest event I’d photographed was a wedding. Even with the pressures that come with working a wedding, it doesn’t compare to capturing VP Harris at the DNC. As a Black woman photographer capturing such a monumental moment in history, I wanted to make sure I photographed history in the right light.
There were so many people inside the United Center. The arena seats 23,500 at maximum capacity, and by the time Harris spoke on Thursday, it was a packed house. On the floor, I overheard security telling each other that the arena was at capacity.
And there were so many activities going on. In the hallways of the United Center, there were food vendors, people taking photos in front of DNC backdrops and banners, discussion panels and more. The busyness felt chaotic, unpredictable, rushed and frenetic.
The arena floor bustled with thousands of delegates and attendees in custom outfits, hundreds of photographers and journalists from news outlets around the world, dozens of social media influencers and unconscionable amounts of security of all kinds (police, U.S. Secret Service, etc).
As I assessed the chaos at the start of each night, I looked around the room at all the photographers on the floor. The first thing I noticed was the surplus of white men with their cameras. Photographers on the floor were aggressive. With this DNC being such a historic event, I had this hope that maybe more photographers would reflect the representation of VP Harris. I saw a handful of Black women photographers around me while I was on the floor.
As everyone tried to find their space for the perfect shot, it placed everyone into fight mode. In a sense, this environment caused photojournalists to work against each other instead of together. I stand at 5 ‘3, and I was easily pushed around by other photographers. Also, when attendees held up their campaign signs, it would block my view of the stage, making it more challenging to capture my shots.
With the press credential that I was granted, it only gave me access to exchange for a floor pass for an hour at a time. Within that hour, I had to make sure I brought the pass back to the DNC Staffer or else I’d lose my access to shoot on the floor of the DNC. From what I saw, the roped-off photo pit was reserved for big-name news outlets. On the floor, with the rotating access credential, there was no contained space for photographers. And security would not let you stand in one place on the floor for longer than two minutes.
As each day of the DNC progressed, it became clear to me that this environment was created with big-name media as priority. Big-name outlets have the resources, equipment, and clout to get good positioning throughout the arena. Photojournalists from small newsrooms, like myself, really had to fight for our photos.
There were a couple of times where other photojournalists came and stood right in front of my camera, particularly when I was trying to take photos of former First Lady Michelle Obama and VP Harris.
There were moments where I asked photojournalists or security if I could take a few photos very quickly, and I was met with “No.”
I was yelled at by security for standing in one spot for too long, which was outside of my control because there was no other place to go with my rotating credential access on the floor in such a crowded space with no designated spot for photographers.
I was denied access to a roped-off section on the floor when I’d just watched a white photojournalist given access to do the same thing I was asking.
On the last night of the DNC, with Harris scheduled to speak and unconfirmed rumors of a Beyoncé appearance, photographers weren’t allowed to leave the floor after 7:00 p.m., even if you needed water, food or a bathroom break. If a photographer left the floor, they wouldn’t be able to gain entry again to photograph the rest of the DNC.
It’s a very disconnecting feeling when you’re fighting a white photographer to get photographs of people like civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who represents a legacy of paving the way for Black political power in this particular space. I didn’t have any bad interactions with the other Black photographers I came across on the floor; we all just gave each other looks of exhaustion.
Even with all the chaos I was experiencing inside, it didn’t compare to what our photographers were going through on the outside of the United Center.
While I was inside capturing the celebration of “equality” broadcasted on national TV, The TRiiBE had a group of incredible photographers capturing the side of history that wasn’t represented on stage. TRiiBE multimedia producer Tyger Ligon worked inside and outside the United Center. Our cohort of freelance photographers capturing outside protests include Alexander Gouletas, Kenn Cook, LaKesha Howard-Williams and Mateo Zapata.
As I am inside hearing chants of Democratic delegates yelling “USA, USA, USA!” in happy unison, the very real cries for “free Palestine,” reparations and ending poverty filled the streets of the West Side, where the United Center is located.
On the last night of the DNC, the two worlds collided as the Uncommitted delegates decided to protest inside the DNC security perimeter at Gate 121 of the United Center. They also held hands and protested in the hallway of the United Center. Their primary call was for a ceasefire in Gaza, but they also wanted the Democratic Party to make space for a Palestinian-American to speak on stage. The parents of a 23-year-old American who was taken hostage by Hamas spoke on stage on Wednesday night.
Although The TRiiBE is a small news team, we were able to capture the DNC through a Black liberatory lens and showcase the importance of the local press. From the coverage outside the DNC to inside, we are proof that our work is powerful and even though we don’t have the level of resources of a national news, our impact is just as strong.
