Pray for Myanmar

I am embarrassed to admit how long it has been since I held a camera in my hand. It was the first of February, a model shoot with my friend, Samantha. Winter was late getting to Indiana this year but when it did, it found cause with the pandemic, ganged up with the university semester and things just stopped for me. If I teased you with the last post, rest assured, there will be more posts in a “Why Black and White” series in weeks to come.

This Saturday the weather was great, and we had time to get out, stretch our legs and enjoy a walk downtown. No matter where we start, we often wind up doing a loop around the circle. It is the gathering point for the city. As we approached on this day we heard, then saw a crowd. Not quite sure what was going on until we got closer.

Indianapolis has a large Chin community that lives on the mid south side. Much has probably been on their minds of late. Hate crimes on the rise against citizens of Asian descent nationally, a targeted, mass casualty hate crime in Atlanta and a military coup in the home country of Myanmar. On this day the Chin community decided to let their voices be heard. They gathered for a peaceful protest on the circle. There were as many songs as chants and for all the troubles in the world, there was an optimistic feel on the first great spring weekend of the year. The colors of the crowd lit up the afternoon.