Lawrence Bryant Collection
Scope and Contents
The Lawrence Bryant Collection documents a growing movement protesting police violence, spurred by the shooting of African American teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The bulk of the collection shows the protests and unrest in Ferguson and surrounding areas following Brown’s death on August 9, 2014 and the announcement on November 24th of the Grand Jury’s decision not to indict Officer Wilson. Photographs show peaceful demonstrations and vigils, as well as rioting, looting, and burning buildings. Police are shown responding to the unrest with a militarized approach, and officers are frequently wearing riot gear, wielding rifles, manning armored vehicles, and deploying tear gas and smoke bombs. Officers come from a wide range of local police departments, particularly the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the National Guard are also included.
The earliest photographs in the collection show protests held on August 13th and 14th, including marches through the streets of Ferguson and vigils held at the temporary memorial to Michael Brown set up at the site of his death on Canfield Drive. These photographs include Senator Claire McCaskill, Governor Jay Nixon, and Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ronald S. Johnson on the ground in Ferguson. Scattered protests are shown throughout the fall of 2014, particularly in the days leading up to the Grand Jury’s announcement. Photographs taken the night of the announcement show Michael Brown’s mother, Lezley McSpadden, as well as peaceful protests that devolved into rioting, looting, and burning buildings. The Grand Jury’s decision led to multiple protests in late November, and photographs show Black Friday protests at both the St. Louis Galleria and Chesterfield Mall. The final photographs in the collection show protesters blocking traffic on Interstate 70 to mark the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death.
The collection also includes general protests against police violence and events in memory of other African Americans killed by police officers. Of note are photographs showing a protest and candle-light vigil in honor of Antonio Martin, who was shot to death by a police officer at a Berkely, Missouri gas station in December 2014, and one photograph showing a memorial at the site where Kajieme Powell was killed by St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers in August 2014. General protests include a United We Stand Silent March to protest officer-involved shootings; a March to the Arch, which included an “eviction notice” served by protesters to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; and protests during Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events.
The influence of the Black Lives Matter movement can be seen throughout the collection in the messaging used by protesters and in protesters’ inclusion of broader issues surrounding police violence.
Dates
- 2014-2015
Conditions Governing Access
No viewing restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Photographer Lawrence Bryant retains copyright to images in this collection, but has granted the Missouri Historical Society a non-exclusive license to release digital reproductions of the original images to the general public for download, reproduction, or other reuse for any purpose provided that the original images are not altered or modified.
This collection contains images of private, living, citizens participating in public events, but includes no model releases or permissions. Users should be aware of any relevant privacy laws when determining the appropriateness of their use.
Biographical / Historical
Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American teenager, was shot and killed by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. Brown was walking down Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri with his friend, Dorian Johnson, when they were confronted by Wilson. An altercation ensued, with conflicting stories about the nature of the events. Wilson originally stopped Brown and Johnson for walking in the middle of the road, but Wilson claimed he grew suspicious that Brown was the suspect in a robbery and assault that had just occurred at the Ferguson Market and Liquor Store. During the confrontation, Wilson claimed that Brown charged towards him and that he shot in self-defense. Johnson said that Brown had his hands up when he was shot, leading to the protest chant “Hands up, don’t shoot.” After the shooting, Brown’s body was left in the street for four hours, which angered the gathering crowd.
Brown’s death inflamed long-standing tensions between the majority-black population in Ferguson and the majority-white city government and police, and protests broke out the day after the shooting. Peaceful daytime demonstrations soon developed a pattern of turning violent overnight, with rioting, looting, and arson. Police responded with a militarized approach, including wearing riot gear; wielding rifles; manning armored vehicles; and deploying tear gas, smoke bombs, and rubber bullets. On August 14th, the Missouri State Highway Patrol took control of security in Ferguson. The Highway Patrol was led by Captain Ronald S. Johnson, an African American who had grown up in North St. Louis County. Johnson promised to pull back the use of force in the police response to protests, and he led a peaceful march on the evening of August 14th. However, both peaceful and violent protests continued for several weeks, and Governor Jay Nixon called in the National Guard on August 18th.
A Grand Jury was convened on August 20th to consider whether to charge Officer Wilson in connection with Brown’s death. The jury deliberated for several months and announced their decision not to charge Wilson on November 24th. This spurred another wave of peaceful daytime protests, which again turned violent overnight.
The ongoing protests in Ferguson fueled the growing Black Lives Matter movement, both nationally and locally. Nationally, Michael Brown served as a spark that set off protests across the country, and some Black Lives Matter activists even traveled to Ferguson. Many local protesters utilized the messaging of the movement, and as protests continued, Ferguson protesters broadened their focus to the killings of African Americans across the country and to police violence in general.
Extent
0.57 Gigabytes
Language of Materials
English
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
No physical or technical restrictions.
Donor Information
Collection licensed from Lawrence Bryant in 2018.
Existence and Location of Copies
Donor may have retained copies of all or some of the images in this collection. Item-level records and digital files can be accessed through the Online Collections on the Missouri Historical Society website (mohistory.org/collections).
Formats
Digital Photographs
Processing Information
Processed by Lauren Sallwasser, 2020.
- African Americans -- Missouri -- Saint Louis
- Black lives matter movement -- Missouri -- Ferguson
- Brown, Michael, Jr., 1996-2014
- Police shootings -- Missouri -- Ferguson
- Police-community relations -- Missouri -- Ferguson
- Protest movements -- Missouri -- Ferguson
- Race relations -- Missouri -- Ferguson
- Title
- Guide to the Lawrence Bryant Collection.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- EAD by Lauren Sallwasser using ArchivesSpace.
- Date
- 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society, Photographs and Prints Department Repository
Library and Research Center
225 South Skinker Boulevard
St. Louis MO 63105
photo@mohistory.org