10 of the most iconic protest photos
Some photos don’t just capture protest, they inspire it
Jul 11, 2016 · 2 min read
The word “iconic” is badly overused these days, but for certain images it seems the only apt descriptor—especially for photographs that enshrine watershed political moments. Since the advent of the camera, those on the front lines have been able to capture the dramatic tensions and the stakes of social and political movements.
At their best, these photographs expose the tragic absurdity of power. The ones that linger in our minds are those that juxtapose battle-ready police lines with single individuals, the machinery of war with the harmless banalities of the everyday, like a flower, or a pretty red dress. Here are some of the—yes, iconic—photographs that have, over decades, come to form the visual language of political protest.
