Portraits
James Buchanan poses for a portrait on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at his home in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He left jail a quadriplegic. Buchanan counts himself lucky he didn't die. And through rehab, he has regained some ability to walk—he first used a wheelchair, then a walker, and now has to lean on things to get around. But he said the nerve damage throughout his body is likely permanent.
Greenwood massacre survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle, 108, poses for a portrait while in her retirement home on November 6, 2023. On this day her legal team submitted their final brief to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to keep the case alive.
“I got all kinds, and all colors. I got charcoal, green, rust, I got colors I can’t even name. Anytime I put on a suit the shoes match.” Thomas Brown, 62, of Vinegrove, said outside State Street Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Ky. Brown regularly drives over an hour from Vinegrove to worship at State Street Baptist Church.
Lawyer, Damario Solomon-Simmons poses for a portrait on February 19, 2022 outside Tulsa Federal Building in Tulsa, OK.
A protester wearing a durag attends a protest outside of Trump towers on July 4, 2020 in Manhattan, NY. This protest was one of dozen taking place across New York.
Tiffany Crutcher poses for a portrait on February 16, 2022 at Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, OK.
Eleanor Williams, 52, sits for a portrait in her Connecticut home. Williams's child was kidnapped when a stranger offered to change the then 18-year old Williams’ baby outside a bus stop at the old Trailways station. Williams has been tortured by this mistake she made as a teenager for all these years. The DC police are now taking another look at the cold case, but there's little evidence and little chance of ever finding April.
Evelyn Rodriguez, stands next to near a memorial for her murdered daughter, Kayla Cuevas on February 16, 2018 in Brentwood, NY. Rodriguez is suing Brentwood High School for $110 million for not doing more for her daughter's safety.
William Francis Pepper sits for a portrait in his home office on March 25, 2018 in Harlem, NY. Pepper believes that there was a conspiracy in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis as James Earl Ray lacked the skill and bankroll to pull it off. Mr. Pepper is supported in his theory by Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. King. She was 5 when he was killed.
Anna Ponomarev and her mother Elena pose for a take in the view of Ceasar's Bay where Elena walks routinely on November 6, 2019. "I was born near the Black Sea it reminds me of home down here," she said. Elena will spend that hour walking clearing her head, enjoying the weather, or people watching as a break from the day-to-day. In the summer of 2002 her son Nikolai fell from a 10th-floor balcony at a friend’s apartment.He fractured his skull and died instantly. He was 20 years old. “My heart was broken,” Ms. Ponomarev said. “I lost that feeling that everything is going to be O.K.” Life at home became unbearable. Ms. Ponomarev and her husband developed depression and anxiety. She took about three months off work, and he felt an overwhelming sense of survivor’s guilt — he blamed himself for Nikolai’s death. “He was so depressed,” Ms. Ponomarev said. “He couldn’t eat.”
Demetria Mack poses for a portrait in Brooklyn, New York on November 13, 2020. Mack was a sophomore at Howard University studying majoring in computer science, but her college life was about to be completely reimagined due to Covid-19. When the pandemic hit in March, her college closed and her permanent housing was no longer available. She quickly had to find a new place to live and adapt.
Silver Star recipient and member of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame Willard Parish poses for a portrait in his home in Bristow, OK. Parish was involved in the first major Army battle in Vietnam, the Battle of la Drang, in 1965. Parish was included in the book "We Were Soldiers," that was later turned into a movie.
Independent Pharmacist, Bled Tanon poses for a portrait on November 1, 2023 at Will Rogers Gardens in Oklahoma City, OK. Tanon has helped organize a walkout for the pharmacy staff due to working conditions at Walgreens.
Tulsa County District Attorney, Steve Kunzweiler poses for a portrait in his office at the Tulsa Courthouse in Tulsa, OK on May 8th 2023.
Tredrick Johnson and his son Dedrick pose for a portrait on March 7, 2022 in Downtown Tulsa, OK. Dedrick survived a fatal wreck during an OHP pursuit in Tulsa a year ago. Lanise Dade and her daughter, Camyea Miller, were killed when a 14-year-old boy fleeing OHP in a stolen truck crashed head-on into them. Tredrick and Lanise were siblings.
Chief Egunwale Amusan was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a descendant of 3 survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. He now runs, The Real Black Wall Street Tour. "You'll walk the streets of what was once one of the wealthiest Black neighborhoods in America before its destruction during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921," said Amusan.
Margie Burkhart is the granddaughter of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage Nation member whose siblings and mother were among dozens murdered for their oil wealth during the 1920s. The family tragedy is at the center of the movie "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Orlando Hazley poses for a portrait, as the former principal at McLain High School there he coordinated the district’s dropout program, on September 15, 2021 at his home in Tulsa, OK. Hazley is being inducted into the state African American Educators Hall of Fame.
Leandra Feliz, the mother of slain teenager Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman Feliz poses for a portrait just blocks from where her son was stabbed to death.
Darius Cummings, 34, first heard the warned about “driving while black” from his mother when he turned 16, he thought his mother was exaggerating. When he moved back to New York he brought with him a cherry red Cadillac SLS but he quickly learned that it drew more police attention with frequent police stops and searches. Though he loved the car he reluctantly borrowed his father's Nissan recently to get around without drama. As he grew frustrated with his treatment and frequent stops he sold the Cadillac to buy a beat-up Nissan to limit his police interaction.
Royah Nunez, 27, poses for a portrait. Nunez is homeless, works six days a week as a dog trainer, leaving at the crack of dawn to visit clients around the tristate area. She loves her job and is not merely dreaming of starting her own dog-training business, but actively planning for it. She's cultivating clients and educating herself. After a long history of physical violence in her home. Her father a violent man, Nunez and sister were frequent recipients of his attacks. Late last year, her father saw her holding hands with her girlfriend over the surveillance cameras that he had installed all over their property. He attacked her with a knife, aiming for her face, but she caught the blade with her hand injuring her and kicked her out of their home.
Dilainy Inoa-Reynoso, 20, is working to overcome the various challenges she faces as a young adult aging out of foster care while pursuing higher education. Inoa-Reynoso has always wanted to become a pediatric oncologist, but bringing her dream to fruition has not been easy for a number of reasons. Ms. Inoa-Reynoso immigrated to the United States in 2004 from the Dominican Republic to join her father in New York. However, the relationship soured between the two when Ms. Inoa-Reynoso was 16, which resulted in her placement in foster care. She developed a close relationship with her foster mother, Rosa Santana, who motivated her to do better in school.
Lyn Ruess takes a moment for herself during trial preparation for an upcoming murder and arson case in a workroom she set up near her office in the Public Defender office in Farmington. Ruess has been a public defender for over 20 years, first in the city then in the rural county of St. Francois, Missouri. Due to Ruess's high level of experience as a public defender, she deals with mostly Murders, Felony A/B cases as well as Sexual Assault cases. The most time consuming cases for a public defender include Murders 106.6 hours, Felony A/B 47.6 hours, and Sex Felony 63.8 hours according to The American Bar Association (ABA). Ruess is currently carrying 106 cases with two murder cases.
Karla Stroble of Louisville watches as racehorses take the field at the 143rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2017, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Christopher Dunn has spent more than 30 years in prison for a murder he and others say he didn’t commit. The state of Missouri says he must stay there—because he wasn’t sentenced to death. Dunn has spent countless hours in prison poring over legal filings and court decisions to get his case to this point.
Army veteran Ray Queen stands with his wife, Rebecca Queen, outside their home in Bartlesville, Okla. An NPR investigation has found that thousands of U.S. military service members and veterans, including the Queen family, are at risk of losing their homes through no fault of their own.