SPECIAL PHOTO FEATURE: FACES OF THE FRONT LINES

ALL PHOTOS BY KEIKO HIROMI

As protests broke out last month in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop, we scrambled like a lot of other news outlets to cover the movement and its multiple facets in the moment, as marches moved through Greater Boston streets and branched out to the suburbs. We’re still working to provide that critical coverage in many forms, and are also committed to following up with longer-form looks at issues around police misconduct and violence, topics we have a long history of hammering.

But as daily marches suddenly sprout, from town commons in Central Mass to East Boston and Nubian Square, with many stemming from the latter growing block by block toward downtown as chants of “I Can’t Breathe” fill the summer air, we have collaborated with some seriously incredible photographers to give glimpses from the ground that offer a different, you might even say much more authentic story than you can get from a helicopter shot or shaky livestream feed.

Keiko Hiromi has worked tirelessly these past couple of weeks, capturing images across the region. If something’s going down, she’s often on the scene—from late-night confrontations between protesters and cops, to vigils and rallies, to the scenes of community service and mutual aid in the background that are less often seen in mass media coverage.

The photos herein were taken between May 29 and June 2, at demonstrations in Peters Park and outside of the Boston Police Department’s D-4 station in the South End, during one of many marches that made its way up Washington Street, and at the large rally against police brutality and racism in Franklin Park. You can see hundreds more of Keiko’s pics in slide shows at digboston.com and at keikohiromi.com. –Chris Faraone, Editor-in-Chief

This article was produced in collaboration with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

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KEIKO HIROMI

Keiko Hiromi is a Japanese photographer based in Boston and Tokyo, Japan. Her work has appeared on NYT, People Magazine, Vanity Fair, El Pais, Der Spiegel, Boston Globe, PRI, ABC news, and other publications around the globe.