http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/portraiture daily 0.75 2019-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457112491687-0S0MDUYFV1IQ6FAZTI20/portraits-82.65.2_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457112491687-0S0MDUYFV1IQ6FAZTI20/portraits-82.65.2_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457380790451-1V4EBAPSUERI6XZ0DUPD/portraiture-82.65.2_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475545583-RSE6AI5JFTGOY7JDKIXR/portraiture-82.65.447_PS1.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475445982-CZ8CAQWJ9VH6G6MXRB9S/portraiture-82.65.366_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475465198-ELIGEGUCMH604ZDRGQJB/portraiture-82.65.9_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457474124582-OSQWM2UYPA7MLU0XY926/portraiture-82.65.133_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475496888-W0QC645FIMZH6R01BBGF/portraiture-82.65.66_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475530517-TE22N1Z7UH1S5NFFJOSP/portraiture-82.65.5_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475477342-6A3K63FQUT37DYI19X5W/portraiture-82.65.79_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475919508-O5I1RJXA77BOAD7EQDW0/portraiture-82.65.465_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475894379-GX07H5PS5IER6I9QFHG5/portraiture-82.65.379_PS1-toned.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457108948941-TBB1X97QMGRFOO3H3Z1J/82.65.424_PS1.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457474083118-3AMK647X1L0MJUFP43L9/portraiture-82.65.173_PS2.jpg Portraiture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457475931580-6K5U8YR14I1T0OQ9WYMJ/portraiture-82.65.454_PS2.jpg Portraiture http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/overview daily 1.0 2019-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241624175-J0OUA9Z36GI9P82PKBQE/1-Markowitz_Overview-1006308.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241624175-J0OUA9Z36GI9P82PKBQE/1-Markowitz_Overview-1006308.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241625005-W1K9NM0ZRGETYMVMCQRK/2-Markowitz_Overview-1006758.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241633120-XJVR0CGRIGQNAZX2I5XN/3-Markowitz_Overview-1014845.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241633488-YHW52SWA4IVSTQOUPTHQ/4-Markowitz_Overview-1006242.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241639213-2EPCOZ2A26BRWPJUZMK8/5-Markowitz_Overview-1008509.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241639107-YRIAC8W4NSSX3VKM64AA/6-Markowitz_Overview-1217.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241646499-XROZ196UI459EZFV9FY2/7-Markowitz_Portrait-1006872.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241646330-CUKVYJARD25MCFKYVBEP/8-Markowitz_Overview-1013761.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241653137-OV01PKIDF0T3NS0D6YAC/9-Markowitz_Overview-1013771.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241655595-QZZWDASSDSCIZ43NU1BE/10-Markowitz_Overview-1005673.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241660958-59C6BL8LF9IYT1VNCO3M/11-Markowitz_Portrait-1014100.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241661126-AT3G6GDLJBPC80PRPWN4/12-Markowitz_Overview-1013458.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241667470-JNTGHNTE7RCALEUXIQN7/13-Markowitz_Overview-1006548.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241667511-8EGKPO96LE07RX4MMPUV/14-Markowitz_Overview-1009752.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241671944-Y3109UE4M82D1H5UBFD2/15-Markowitz_Overview-9919.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241675910-KKRV46X5BZSJS8WY2I1J/16-Markowitz_Overview-1252.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241683273-QN2TKMU34P1AC456JTLZ/17-Markowitz_Overview-36.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241684175-VKK460CI8SUIA4XGGTK3/18-Markowitz_Overview-1008.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241691668-OQWVNQC4PZJ8NF7AME36/19-Markowitz_Overview-1827.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241692094-8PCQT6EBJ2MUQV3ZW50V/20-Markowitz_Overview-36.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241695802-C1HDAHPK720KNEV96HVK/21-13-JM_TAZ-9701.jpg Overview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557241696857-JZCMVA69IU3P7BVLXKBF/22-Markowitz_Overview-36-2.jpg Overview http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/portraits daily 0.75 2019-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512415266-6WCKNUW3UCUGYIA0IGEO/1-Markowitz_Portrait-1002648.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512415266-6WCKNUW3UCUGYIA0IGEO/1-Markowitz_Portrait-1002648.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512436739-9M8VSR6NNZGHRSUXQ9TO/2-Markowitz_Portrait-16.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512433063-6LXH0FKOPJDBIBAY2VAK/3-2-Master-Markowitz_8154.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512447665-DR36SKMYF0YX7HZ8RUG4/4-Markowitz_Portrait-1014100.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512447886-MBWSK1ZKD9260Y135M61/5-Markowitz_Portrait-1015086.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512459465-IXVOLLUQ80KCLMWVW78M/6-Markowitz_Portrait-1010309.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512461529-SEC7I8U4YU48UUBC4GLX/7-Markowitz_Portrait-1008139.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512511546-5KOBMSASP93LV6NWAQV0/8-Markowitz_Overview-36.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512510646-92CFRUYWENYJ4S5EGBXG/9-Markowitz_Portrait-36.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512519343-U3UCUTNPCTI2Y0P0L788/10-Markowitz_Portrait-2321.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512526431-VZNRUCYMJLB6SFZCK8C7/11-Markowitz_Portrait-1002320.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512538894-MU9EIBCSRNMMMLPRY7T8/12-Markowitz_Portrait-36-2.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512547503-F6E52K6EAW0TZ8YQ0REM/13-Markowitz_Portrait-1003088.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512546640-KMMMV7VWSTQNPUR8D6OT/14-Markowitz_Portrait-1014757.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512556239-XWTDLM7GDJ1KP9RYKLX6/15-Markowitz_Portrait-1004627.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512561165-QB1KTO2CNI8J9VHMWDJ4/16-Markowitz_Portrait-1011178.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512567087-3JX0Y7BDKIE8H4T7SFQR/17-Markowitz_Portrait-1004196.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1558447617182-WMEYH404IVMP6QU8PLXA/Matlinda-5171.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512574644-VICFJY0MM9TVM8D0SCAT/18-Markowitz_Portrait-1366.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512611885-YEWMSOH1E4VNWMR0NY2N/19-4-000038280004.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557512591780-PJ2AZU567E8F8FWDQQYI/20-Markowitz_Portrait-1006257.jpg Portraits http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/singles-bloc daily 0.75 2016-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458340474890-M0FY20ALFAHMTZO8PMM8/7-Master-Markowitz_7234.jpg Overview http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/portraits-bloc-1 daily 0.75 2019-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341158529-DYDCC72SG1VVIHN69OHD/1-Master-Markowitz_8154.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489695296358-P99XA2448L5DFAP3P1FV/ThroughTheDustWEBSITE-5.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489699821356-YVZ3BGVUMAY5XYXK0K3N/16.11_India_Bangalore007.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341159407-2TV2LOFD1TD72Y7R5V9W/3-Master-JM-7151.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1490284805541-3ASIS438WMRDTR5D5J37/JM_TAZ-1366.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489696612451-1HW22WKY0A0AAZXXLYBK/16.11_India_Silonijan005.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489695297891-FVGO179NKYH2AZB0IEIW/ThroughTheDustWEBSITE-6.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489695296182-9ISKBUFMEW3QLT4U7BFW/ThroughTheDustWEBSITE-3.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489696610033-U8T4ZD92TUTSL9UNI6XZ/16.11_India_Siliguri003-Edit.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341159443-BK40F659HMSGLTNCSVRN/4-Master-lfCOV03-3681.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341160122-H192LW6O39EKYEJU6M3A/5-Master-JM-8321.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341162786-U8IJ8F2O7FTWE6ZKL4NG/11-Master-Markowitz_8567.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489696607750-1MIBRALMNUHQP69HYVA2/16.11_India_Sikkim009-Edit.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341158643-UTAEO3HOUTT95X5PEJMG/2-Master-JM-9086.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341160345-VSTH5H8PJB2C3CNGZ8GC/6-Master-JM-6438.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341160572-1UT359Q8KEDMZ4PQVCPK/7-Master-JM_140422_DSC1594.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489696602503-TQBZK0EFEO2IPJG7V689/16.11_India_Bangalore010.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341161384-HED7T0G3J6S9WK3DVNP1/10-Master-IMG_1730.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458341160950-OS68KDBDYOQCNDCMJUW3/9-Master-Markowitz_1781.jpg Portraits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489696607808-MJQSTPKE6SQ4TFB8VNGJ/16.11_India_Hampi009.jpg Portraits http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/new-page daily 0.75 2019-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1557244496504-XZZ0FVLTSATUMCALS703/22-Markowitz_Overview-36-2.jpg Home - Born and raised New Yorker, chronicling his hometown. Jonah is a photographer and filmmaker whose work focuses on visualizing how race and class intersect in today’s world. http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/three-bags-full daily 0.75 2017-03-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335205364-4AZA2L9T9K2H5LKMEIYV/1-JM_TAZ_CB-0760.jpg Three Bags Full In this picture, I'm confused. I just got home [back to chicago from college]. I was planning on dropping out — I'm not even gonna lie to you. I wasn't even gonna tell nobody. But I'm like, Yo, this is not the same. I don't feel the same at all. My homies was doing gang signs and stuff. I was like, Oh shit, I forgot all about this. I used to love that — I used to love being around my homies, chillin' and stuff. After seeing, like, what I have ahead of me, the gift I got, like actually going to college, seeing my homies all living in somebody's house that they don't even know, having parties and shit, I was like, Yo, I don't have to be here.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335205806-L5MHPVJTHGPQRCPPCAUH/2-JM_TAZ_CB-2514.jpg Three Bags Full Here I'm back in the city. I'm back with the homies, you know. This is me coming back, getting my hair cut, fitting back to where I belong. And getting ready to go back to the streets, 'cause I was home now. I always go to the West Side, because that's where I lived before. I'm from the South Side, but I don't go over there, because people always killing each other. And my family is over there, like my grandma and stuff, but she has a tumor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335206472-XII7HNWVIAIMQI20ALB2/3-JM_TAZ-9919.jpg Three Bags Full I decided we should go see my family. And I just see how the hood in Chicago, the South Side, is devastating. The houses are messed up. Look at the clothes I'm wearing — I'm wearing like college clothes. I have an H&M hoodie on. I'm like so different. I'm like, Yo, this is mad weird. It's not like, Why am I here? It's more like, Do I belong here? And I'm like, where's my grandma? She's at the Kingdom Hall — she's a Jehovah's Witness. I hadn't talked to my grandma in a year. I wanted to see how she was, and I found out she had a tumor, she's on these drugs. I put her through a lot, and I felt like maybe I should apologize, let her know, like, I really care about you, I love you still. I came back and she wasn't even there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335207115-BRQUH9SLMY1FGO1F2B0E/4-JM_TAZ-0330.jpg Three Bags Full See my homies? They're all gangbangers. Black and white, red and black — those are like, gang colors. They all different gangs, too — GD, Vice Lord. Those are, like, the people that had my back in high school, especially Tommy — he the man done all my tattoos, but he's still a positive role model in my life. He's hood, but he has his goals, like to be a slash-rapper-slash-artist with tattoos. And this is the girl I was with. They're shooting a video because it's Tommy's birthday. They rap, and all Chicago people always wanna be in the rap game, make it big by rapping. When I was in high school I was, like, still on my game with my crew, but they knew what I was trying to do. And they respected that 'cause I told them the truth. Even though we got into fights in the hood, beating people up, they made sure I stayed outta trouble, 100 percent. Like, I don't have a real family, but they was family to me. And I was still going to school — I made sure I went to school, regardless of the situation. And they had my back through it, thick and thin, even though I got in a lotta trouble with them. I regret it, but at the same time I still don't because it was with them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1459443198460-6ZUKSLRWC803NYPNHCZJ/5-JM_TAZ-0463.jpg Three Bags Full This is my cousin(right,center). That's his best friend(right). This is my brother (left). He has a peculiar style — slash-white-boy-slash-hood-nigga at the same time. He's my foster brother, like, the other half of my heart. This is like blood to me, 100 percent. I don't even consider him my foster brother. He knows everything I do, he know how I feel. We always do everything together. If he could come to college with me, I would be so happy, like, I would never drop out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335208001-7JZ57EM0AJ70MSQ74JD0/6-JM_TAZ-8279.jpg Three Bags Full Tavaris Sanders walks past one of Connecticut College’s oldest dormitories the Backstone House erected in 1914. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335208056-I0X0MFHS7U8JA2NS6EWT/7-JM_TAZ-4225.jpg Three Bags Full I'm always segregated in classes. I'm like the only black male in there, always, usually, most of the time. You can see I'm mad uncomfortable. Like, when they answer questions, the way they answer questions is so much more advanced than mine. And when they turn in their essays, I know my work is not as great as theirs, so I'm like, gonna turn it in last, tell the teacher the truth, like, I'm gonna need help. Because I already know you're expecting something great from me, but to be honest, I don't know how to do great yet, and I'm gonna have to let him know that. I'm in the back of the class always, too, because I don't like being in front. And the work he gave out was just hard. It was African history. The way he explained stuff was like, What? Literally, I was confused. I used to go to his office hours all the time, because I used to struggle with the papers he gave us. He's like, Did you read it? I'm like, Yeah, I read it, but I didn't understand it. All these big words. I wanted to say that, but I was trying my best to keep my composure. I'm like, Bro, I read it, but I didn't really understand it, so that's why I'm coming to you. Look at me: Aw, shit, they handing our papers back. I know I messed up. You can see I'm in the back. I'm gonna make sure I'm the last person so nobody see my grade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335210937-KD9XXE5COBLZBKY342IR/8-JM_TAZ-8839.jpg Three Bags Full I got [to college] and I was just devastated. The two days I was here was nothing like the first week. I'm from Chicago, so like, where I come from we speak slang. The way we speak is not as proper as theirs. So when I talked, they never understood what I was saying. It irritated me. I know I can't speak proper English right now, but I'm trying. It's more like they was making fun of me, you know? Coming here, like, people study for hours, and they have all this advanced grammar and big words and I'm like, Yo, we did not learn this in high school. Whoa, the transition was so hard. And like, yeah, we're gonna do a five-page paper. What? We never did a five-page paper in our high school. It was more like a one-page paper. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335211276-QYOA6F64MQP5OJD6ND84/9-JM_TAZ-8880.jpg Three Bags Full I feel like nobody want to talk to me when I get to lunch. It's always like, team with team, or the people you knew before you came here. Like right here, this is a basketball team, this like another small group — I think, a cappella or something like that. That's the male basketball team down there. And there's me, because I'm not on the basketball team or the girls’ basketball team or a cappella. It's just me. I sat by myself, listening to music, looking at stuff that's happening at home — dance videos, parties. I'm seeing what my brother doing. All the types of stuff that makes me happy. Being on my phone was a way to, not zone out, but I guess make myself comfortable while sitting there. It became the norm. People would come up sometimes, like, Are you OK? I felt like they didn't care. Like, You see me by myself this whole time, why would you come up to me now? I'm fine, thank you for asking. They don't ask, Do you want to sit with us? I probably woulda sat with them — Hey, what's up, you know? It was like I just didn't fit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335211792-8L2NHVRYVQ8LFPE50KYT/10-JM_TAZ-8390.jpg Three Bags Full Tavaris tries on a Halloween mask in his dorm room for his two roommates. Despite not enjoying drinking he like he needed to go to college parties and drink in order to fit in. Tavaris’ high school was less than 5 percent white. He has a very difficult time crossing the cultural divide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335212047-N9D8W2I6VSW09FQRWCVC/11-JM_TAZ-8509.jpg Three Bags Full Halloween night. I was in a freshman dorm, but I was still in a room by myself. It was a quad, and there was a living room. I had a bunk bed, and it was just me. Boy, this picture — I'm just saying, like, Leave me alone. The stuff they're talking about has nothing to do with anything I would talk about. So they're drinking and playing beer pong. This is something new to me — I never played beer pong a day in my life. So I feel like, Let me just sit down and get drunk. I feel like when I drink I'm able to socialize more. I can like, I guess, improv and create a better conversation. But I stopped doing that, ’cause I feel like that's not a good way to fit it, you know? So I'm trying to do it without being drunk. When I go out now, I won't drink, I'll try to talk to females and males about just random conversations I could think of. They bring stuff up, like, I don't know what you're talking about, to be honest, but it sounds fascinating, could you explain a little bit more? And they're like, Yeah, it's a book about this and a book about that. I'm, Oh, yeah, that sounds interesting, you know? Anything to continue the conversation. Back in freshman year, when they say a book, I be like, I don't know nothing about that. I made the conversation so boring, I made them leave. But now I be like, Oh yeah, tell me more about it. I'm able to try to get a feel for the conversation, try to escalate it more. I'm getting better about it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335212232-B4UL3XQNS766A0DEI7EW/12-JM_TAZ-5264.jpg Three Bags Full I don't belong here at all. Like, should I go home? Why am I here? I'm not comfortable at all. One night I was on the phone with my mom. I wanted to go back to the hood with my homies. And I had a girl, it was this long-distance relationship, and we ended up talking that night, and I was so angry. There was a point where I couldn't hold it in any more, it was all bottled up. So I just started screaming and stuff. And my roommate came out, which is understandable, and he was like, Yo, you need to shut up. And I'm like, What? Bro, stop talking to me. You don't even know what I'm going through. He did not care about that, like, You need to shut up, I'm trying to go to sleep. And I started saying, You're fake as hell. And then my roommate grabbed me, and I'm like, Bro, you got five seconds to let me go, or I'm gonna beat your ass. And he let me go. And I'm like, Bro, if you ever do that shit again, I'm gonna beat your ass. And then I got into trouble. The next day they sent me to the honor code, or whatever it is, and I had a meeting, and they wasn't even worried about what was really going on. They was like, You need not to do that anymore. You're disturbing students. I'm like, So you really don't care why I did that? You want to know the explanation? She said something, and it irritated me, and I just, like, shut down. Even still to this day I have problems, like, adjusting, and I still wanna leave. That's not gonna ever change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335212425-CE4VJMO27HOYU6O65HFM/13-JM_TAZ-9701.jpg Three Bags Full Tavaris rounded a corner on his way to the dining hall when two of his classmates approached. He smiled. Neither of them met his gaze. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335212780-UTMOVJJG6GLLS9L9ZAT8/14-JM_TAZ-5662.jpg Three Bags Full This is my Afro-Caribbean dance class. This is like a way for me to express myself, learning new dances, and to feel more comfortable with myself and why I'm here. It was an outbreak from being around that crowd of people who don't see what I see. I'm able to talk more about dance than any other subject. My professor, Rosemarie Roberts, she's a great teacher. I was very into it, I loved it, even though it was a dance I never did a day in my life. I felt like her explaining the aesthetics of cool and the aesthetics of juxtaposition — learning all that, you can see what dancing can do. It's sorta like a second language. You're able to talk to people just by dancing. I loved this class. I felt like I knew everybody and what they did and what they loved, and we became close friends, just by dancing. And it was a way of me to open my mind, like I can show people how I really am. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335212801-LRYTINAW54K5BP5QXW8I/15-JM_TAZ-4800.jpg Three Bags Full I went to the writing center because peoples was letting me know, Taz, you're messing up, you gotta change that. This is me being helped. Yo, I got this essay, I know the way it's worded is not the right way, could you help me out? Yeah, you're missing commas and punctuation and stuff like that. He's explaining what I could do with my paragraphs, my conclusion, my thesis statement. He helped me out. I feel like I got a little better at writing, but I'm still in the process of it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335213268-8YKUNX53134JWHUDE892/16-JM_TAZ-4939.jpg Three Bags Full This is my Africana-studies class. I was very fascinated by this class — I wanted to know more about myself. And then, See all the black students in this class? It's just us. I love this class, ’cause he gets us involved. Like the way he talks — he talks the way I talk at home. He has slang. And there's white people in our class, too, but they don't feel belittled. He talks about white supremacy, he talks about everything, and he doesn't discriminate them. And they feel so comfortable, and they love it, like they wanna be Africana-studies majors, too. David Canton, he's my student adviser — this is the man I can relate to. He's the main one here that understands me. He's mad funny, hilarious. He's always busy, though. This class is the start of me knowing what I want to do with my career. My first objective was to go back home and help those who want to be helped. David Canton's like, You know, you can't do just that. That's like just offering somebody a book and telling them to read it. You gotta have a plan. Like, you gotta have an organization, have people behind you. So I'm trying to figure out what particular thing I'm going to do to help my people. I wanna help people because people helped me throughout my whole life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335213756-0K3YCKCOXAYZP32FIAIQ/17-JM_TAZ-1003.jpg Three Bags Full These are the players who don't play on the actual basketball team, but on the club. It's like a way for me also to express myself. I love playing club basketball. It's a diverse basketball team, but it's more a black scene than anything. Being on this team was like getting to know how people feel about this culture. Hearing all the people from club, I better understand what the college is and how they feel about it. And, like, now I can try to put my effort toward being better at this college after hearing what they have to say. Plus, you leave together, and you eat together, and then you play a game together. And lax bros — you see how they're looking at us? Lax bros are like that. Facts. They have their own big-ass house. They're like the most top of all teams that think they're the best. And the girls just be on them like rats trying to get some cheese. Facts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335213787-2WZTYOEWYP3H21Z1ACHJ/18-JM_TAZ-5042.jpg Three Bags Full This is the basketball team during finals. We're coming together to try and get work done, and I'm trying to find somebody to help me. This is Isaiah in the pink checkerboard shirt, and there's Alex in the gray shirt, and there's Reed. He's like one of the coolest players on the lacrosse team because he actually talks to me. Isaiah and Alex are somebody who if I really need help they try to be there for me as much as possible, even though they don't really understand me, and I respect that. We was getting ready for finals in mathematical thought, and it's some weird stuff that I never heard about. I was so confused, but they was able to explain it and show me how to get stuff done. I felt a little comfortable with them helping me do the work because usually people don't help me with anything when it comes to work. I ask, and they, like, Yeah, let's meet up, but we never end up meeting up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335214470-SJ75IL9U930V1K4GRQ4J/19-JM_TAZ-1975.jpg Three Bags Full Me at the crib with my momma. My mom, she's like a huge part of my life. She understands me. She's always trying to get under my skin, because she knows what I'm capable of doing. She knows that I'm a bright, intelligent man, but sometimes I belittle myself because I feel like I don't belong to where I'm at. So I came home and she's like, Taz, you're going back to college, right? She knows how to talk to me, and I love it because that's not even my momma. I have a lot of mothers that I call Mom, and she's the main one that can actually talk to me. Like, Taz, you need to stop, you need to do this, you need to do that, and I actually listen. I never really wanted to come to college. I was like, Why? I did good in high school. I can get a job. I know people who know people who got people who got people. My mom was there, she's like, Taz, you gotta go. Get out of the city. There's a lotta bad things going on. There's shooters, there's killers. The way she explained it, she was right. I'm like, Let me stay here. She's like, Taz, you can't. You know what you're gonna do. You're gonna get in trouble, you're gonna do bad things. She was 100 percent right. And after thinking about it, constantly and constantly, I was like, I gotta go. I feel like, the way she carries herself, and the way she explains things, it's so powerful. She's like an actual mother to me. And that soul food right there — potatoes, carrots, beef, looking good. It was flame. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458335214096-T8K24JPYQKWSACCVFX4X/20-JM_TAZ-3701.jpg Three Bags Full I'm trying to accept this place. I got a journey ahead of me, but I can do it. Yeah. Imagine me being here. A black male from the hood, coming to a college like this. It's so weird. Facts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458340506276-ON2XJCOT91A50PK81EBN/8-JM_TAZ-8839.jpg Three Bags Full http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/princess-to-queen daily 0.75 2016-04-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458665798252-V75NMCNDHS4UI5RDYK82/1-JM-7151.jpg Princess to Queen Tabassum (25) and her mother (L) paid a sizable dowry of cash, jewelry, and 2 suits at time of marriage. Despite the dowry her husband and his family repeatedly abused her for continuing dowry payments and for giving birth only to girls. Her husband re-married and had a third daughter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333092187-DSLJESOM3ZGOV74P92Y6/2_JM-6719.jpg Princess to Queen Lenders take advantage of the pressure put on the bride’s family to have opulent wedding ceremonies and large dowry payments by providing personal loans at exorbitant interest rates that destroy families. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333093110-S1LMYB2OKSIV9QGXCV7I/3_JM-6438.jpg Princess to Queen Over the past 10 years, 91 million Indians, or roughly the combined populations of the United Kingdom and Australia, have migrated from the countryside to its cities. This mass urban migration has flooded the low wage job market, leaving many Indian men without the means to support their families. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333093487-17ZOVA3RHDUOSLB5ED7C/4_JM_14%3A4%3A15-8548.jpg Princess to Queen Two men drag a third man away from a dowry related fight in the Dr. Ambedkar Nagar neighborhood of Bangalore, India. As materialism grows in a globalized indian society, so too do the dowry demands. Dowry is no longer confined to a single transaction around the marriage period, but an ongoing demand on the wife and her family, one that is frequently manifested by sustained long-term harassment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333093806-3A917N8R4RGEU3L8XI1Z/5_JM_14%3A4%3A16-9294.jpg Princess to Queen Photos taken as evidence from case files of Donna Fernandes a founding member of Vimochana. Vimochana is an organization that has fought violence against women in Bangalore, India for the past 35 years. Donna Fernandes explains that “with globalization and privatization, everything began to be seen through the prism of money and market. Marriage today has become a business transaction, a complete replacement of human values by market values.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333094691-O9AV7VCPMAE2PAIQIZSC/6_JM_140422_DSC1594.jpg Princess to Queen “I never thought I would see 2014, I am so happy I have another chance”. Deepa’s (17) marriage began by being abducted and raped and ended in a hospital bed after she was set alight “accidentally” by her husband. Her mother-in-law had doused her in kerosene during an argument about dowry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333094515-N4AXET3P7672M0ZGIVGP/7_JM-7593.jpg Princess to Queen An election campaign poster for Rahul Gandhi showing him with a Dalit caste woman becomes untethered in a storm in the heart of Bangalore, India. Despite an official reporting of one dowry-related death per hour, such deaths remain widely under-reported. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333095567-2ZV3GOC49A2C2J510JMI/8_JM_140421_DSC0974.jpg Princess to Queen According to Gondo Raj (35), he severely burned his hands while trying to save his wife Soya, mother of 3, after she lit herself on fire. Soya’s family, accuses Gondo of murdering her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333098925-95EK2JXNNEABEXVM4Y4K/9_JM-7111.jpg Princess to Queen As India’s wealth grows exponentially, so too does income inequality. Heavily sexualized advertisements boast a lifestyle that very few can access. This advertised deodorant, Axe, costs roughly the equivalent of 2 days of wages for Indian day laborers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333100319-QPYFZ7R8B7EJBPZW6S4J/10_JM_14%3A4%3A15-8656.jpg Princess to Queen Urban populations are swelling while police struggle with meager budgets and rampant corruption, leaving young girls vulnerable as they walk the streets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333101294-UCVMO1S6528RU2KNTN46/11_JM_140418_DSC9687.jpg Princess to Queen Maya stands with friends outside his home over open sewage. Men from struggling rural communities pour into Indian cities alone looking for wages with which to support their families back home. The rapists from the infamous deadly bus gang rape in Delhi of December 2012 were among this migrant population forced to inhabit slums where brutalizing conditions are the norm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333101425-IGLRRMP4DLQHJ0DLD8OC/12_JM_140418_DSC0081.jpg Princess to Queen Arun Das (17) and his family have lived in a tent on this sidewalk since January 24th 2013. His family’s home was destroyed to make room for a large mall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1459540507389-0AWSJZRBOUGFFTLKZ14M/13_MayaDiptych1.jpg Princess to Queen Maya, when drunk, fights both physically and verbally with his mother and girlfriend. When he awakens, he cuts himself to relieve the guilt. His girlfriend can be seen tattooed on his back, accompanied by the quote “Lovig you is like breathing. How can I stop?” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333102412-MQRHAZFGOPG6VR5X905F/14_JM_140421_DSC0785.jpg Princess to Queen Due to the social stigmas associated with divorce, women have few choices to act on the misery caused by their treatment by their husband. Some women use self- immolation to voice their misery. Such is case with 29 year old Mangay, who accidentally self-immolated in a plea for her husband to stop drinking away the family income. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333102767-TNDIEPOFN1JXVU4S1OZG/15_JM_VC-5261.jpg Princess to Queen Members of Vimochana bring their campaign in opposition to violence against women to a busy intersection of Bangalore, India. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458333104300-I1IMV6Q4RN7C6HLLUJ0X/16_JM-7493.jpg Princess to Queen Bangalore, India. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458340556887-919OQHEJLHA2BJWITAU1/1_JM-7151.jpg Princess to Queen http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/devil-in-the-night daily 0.75 2016-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331470257-GLZG0O1M4MAISTX7ZHPX/1-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night Superstorm Sandy’s surge carries a mixture of sea froth and sand over the sea wall onto Beach 138th street in Belle Harbor, Rockaway, New York. By the morning of October 30, 2012, the sea wall and the houses connected to it were destroyed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331470201-AJ92CI56Y4342636UPJ5/2-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night Deep sea fishing rods and reels belonging to Rockaway fisherman, James Culleton, sit unused in his bathtub. Well over six feet of storm surge flooded James’s property, which shared a fence with the local marina in Averne, Queens on the Rockaway Peninsula. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331470804-OE2OY0WSOUIX4CFATHNR/3-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton stands in what used to be his brother’s bedroom on the ground floor of James’s home. James’s brother, disabled and wheelchair-dependent, was evacuated before the storm hit. Six feet of water rushed into the ground floor, causing severe structural damage to the rear wall and ruining the furniture and other household items. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331471031-H0GZKR1IUQ6V7QLF42VM/4-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton searches for the proper key to lock his door at night to protect his few remaining intact possessions. With no electricity for months after the storm, looting was a constant concern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331471477-10OAKCTG7972W5XWFTVR/5-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night “This storm…it was like a phantom, like a devil in the night. It’s just like being on a boat at night…when you don’t see it coming, it’s worse.” James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331471647-K76243K0VE2IWAZI0XQC/6-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night George, a friend of James Culleton and part-time fisherman, takes a break from cleaning and sorting through the contents of James’s home, which had been strewn across his yard to dry. All of James’s fishing work on land was based in sheds located in his yard. He lost all of their contents - fishing gear, boat electronics, ice machines, freezers, and refrigerators that contained hundreds of pounds of bait and fish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331472038-Q8F7G6HDV1RP1CCMKOIL/7-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night “It’s not to be messed with; you have to respect the water. As much as the sea will give, it will take. When the water wants to come, there ain’t no stopping it.” - James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331472105-6B5IYJKHHMGAHEOV65NP/8-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night “Sometimes the water gives, and sometimes it takes…It can take away in one minute what it took a lifetime to build.” - James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331472650-8MP90I5TD4AAQZS9NSHQ/9-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton finished paying off the mortgage on his home in 2011. After his final payment, he neglected to renew the insurance policy that had been wrapped into his mortgage payments. As a result, the damages to his home and property were entirely his responsibility, a financial burden that often seemed insurmountable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331472757-R0P87J6QV70MXEB5XASZ/10-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton visits his brother, Jerald, in the hospital after Jerald’s leg was amputated below the knee. Jerald, who was disabled before the storm, lived on the first floor of James’s home and depended on James to drive him to see his doctors. After Superstorm Sandy flooded both of James’s trucks, transportation became very difficult, and Jerald was unable to visit his doctors. Jerald developed a leg infection that that ultimately cost him part of his leg. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331473928-QW02OAZYKTNRW7EQ4JN4/11-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton sits in Rodger’s Bar on Beach 116th street in Rockaway Park. Referring to his brother Jerald, “The guy was a great athlete, a basketball player, and all-star surfer…It’s a downhill spiral, hopefully not the end. Hopefully good things will come. I don’t know…we’ll see.” James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331473788-LTFXY85BITW6XCQBI0PC/12-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night The Federal Emergency Management Agency evicted Frank from the hotel they provided in February 2013. For months afterwards, James stayed with friends and fellow fishermen, or slept in his truck outside the local police station.   “The uncertainty of not knowing where you’re going to sleep every night, it’s freaking nuts…sometimes I would end up sleeping in my truck.” James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331474752-EQU28LGMJ7GSW35FLEEI/13-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night Captain of a charter fishing boat, James Culleton navigates the waters of Jamaica Bay in search of striped bass. His yearly income depends on the few months that the waters are open to fishing. The financial burden Superstorm Sandy left in its wake put even more pressure on James to find and catch fish this year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331474949-J2TONHZF868UTHDJPPUA/14-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton prepares for a day of fishing aboard his boat, the Easy Rider, in Howard Beach, Brooklyn in the summer of 2013. After a long and troubled winter, James’s regains some normalcy in his life by returning to the water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331475487-P37JEUCDMSVN7A5IDIYA/15-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton relaxes on a late summer 2013 afternoon in his temporary home, a room in a single room occupancy residence in Rockaway Park. Despite the significant downgrade in accommodation, it is the first time since Superstorm Sandy hit that he can afford to have a place of his own. The SROs that still exist in Rockaway represent a bleaker side of the vibrant Rockaway beach community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331475471-RMIE8KV7JHGET09WSKU2/16-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night James Culleton cleans his boat after a week of fishing. Frank grew up on the water in the Rockaways, first moving there with his family in 1957. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331476089-K7OFNGI72TQWUHWEWNY2/17-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night In a rare moment of levity, James Culleton and a friend share laughs at Roger’s Bar on 116th street in Rockaway, NY. They affectionately refer to this bar as their “Club Med.” February 7, 2013. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331476087-MOWDPZ3WZU8Z7Q1V5PNG/18-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night Without money to hire a contractor to fix his home, James Culleton did much of the work to date himself. But the much-needed structural repairs exceeded his abilities and remain unaddressed. His home remains uninhabitable at the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy on October 29th, 2013. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331476604-IKWEV1OQKBI1U4UUR13C/19-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night “I know the water will give what it took back to me…It’s not just in money, it’s spiritually. It’s the feeling when I go out there, and you hear the birds and the water and the smell…It’s a way of life.” James Culleton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458331476709-3E5IUJ88GXCKWST8RLKV/20-DevilInTheNight.jpg Devil in the Night After a morning of fishing, James Culleton takes a moment to rest in his room at the single room occupancy residence in Rockaway Park. “Maybe the storm was a good thing. Maybe it’ll bring more fish. Maybe it got rid of a lot of debris out there. I don’t know, stirred up the bottom and brought some life in. We’ll find out.” -James Culleton. http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/tender-grit daily 0.75 2016-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330054092-5QTMLYTVA06HIFYBAOYA/1-_DSC6831.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod, a 17 year veteran of the Platte County Sheriff’s department, was the first to arrive at the scene of an accident on an offramp of Interstate 29 just outside Platte City, Missouri. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330043514-RMVNFUNMYTPPHIQNHG82/2-_DSC9434.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod visits the Cyber Crimes office in the Platte County Sheriff’s department looking for clues in the data retrieved from a GPS found in a possibly stolen pick up truck. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330044660-BGTYO8TQRBXL9SRXXTBG/3-_DSC9363.jpg Tender Grit The “Baby” Glock 26 Gen4 issued to Detective Nancy Penrod sits on her dresser as she changes out of her work attire. She opts to carry the smaller police issue Glock because “women’s suits are not made to carry weapons, the larger Glock tears my clothes up” – Nancy Penrod. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330054233-YIND0LY39K28RDCQFHS4/4-_DSC6821.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod leaves after interviewing a witness at the scene of a crime. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330061467-R93DP0VFNUMDTQYAIS8N/5-_DSC9427.jpg Tender Grit County Sheriff Detective Nancy Penrod and her brother, Platte City Police Sargent Jim Tharp, are close. They share a bond through work experiences that does not exist with other members of their family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330056679-GFX56W53DS32VL1JQCX4/6-_DSC9482.jpg Tender Grit After a long day, Detective Nancy Penrod heads home to cook dinner for her household. She lives with her sister, daughter, and granddaughter. As she drives through platte county nearly every street reminds her of past crimes committed there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330060535-U3JE6N5JIEFKPDSAWCN6/7-_DSC6848.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod works all of the sexual assault and molestation cases in Platte County. “I carry some of the sadness home with me, if I didn't I wouldn’t be human” -Nancy Penrod.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330065496-F0UHP3DTF1M3SDOUL9QZ/8-_DSC9491.jpg Tender Grit 2013’s harvest yielded more tomatoes then Detective Nancy Penrod’s family could eat. In 2014 however, her garden has gone neglected as the only other Crimes against persons detective in Platte County is out on maternity leave. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330065517-4SQHDFRVODVINDHUOGJC/9-_DSC9505.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod shares a moment at home with her daughter Ashley, her boyfriend Heath and 13 year old granddaughter Bailee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330066858-34XHTACBCL3ZSF2R8PP5/10-_DSC9409.jpg Tender Grit With so much time spent at work, Detective Penrod relishes the moments she can spend at home with her grandchildren. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330067704-ACYESI8GFURA3HTKF0PV/11-_DSC9444.jpg Tender Grit Detective Nancy Penrod interviews a witness in a child sexual molestation case. Mid interview the witness admits “I dont want to know, it would be more then I could handle.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330069161-KRYQD97XRO6DITHWTIYG/12-_DSC9469.jpg Tender Grit When Detective Nancy Penrod joined the Sheriff’s department in 1997 she was one of five females among one hundred and forty two deputies. She was the only woman assigned road duty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458330072535-B1P18SQFXIL3PTYT2VSF/13-_DSC9441.jpg Tender Grit Passing the suspect interview rooms in the Platte County Sheriff’s station, detective Nancy Penrod calls home. http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-09-12 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/about daily 0.75 2019-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1458662356924-RS8Y0NURIEQCISNSSGNW/image-asset.jpeg about - Meet Truce, my trusted assistant Meet Truce, my most trusted assistant. Although he loves the lakes of the Adirondacks, he is not the biggest fan of traditional adirondack cabin decor. http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/beyond-sports-foundation daily 0.75 2016-03-22 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/devil-in-the-night-1 daily 0.75 2016-03-22 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/schott-leathers daily 0.75 2016-03-22 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2016-03-24 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/through-the-dust daily 0.75 2017-03-14 http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/through-the-dust-full-project daily 0.75 2017-03-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489532639061-MOXLVJWAEONRR7SU6XWE/image-asset.jpeg Through the Dust Pamela Rinando is a retired New York City Police officer who spent much of her time as a domestic violence specialist. She fought from within the police force for the rights of victims of sexual abuse. Pamela spoke openly about mishandling and lack of sensitivity that plagued the NYPD in their handling of sexual abuses cases during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Her candidness, in particular her appearance on the Phil Donahue show, made her a target by fellow police officers. Despite fearlessly fighting for twenty years in the police department she retired in 2002 after the events of 9/11 shook her to the core. 15 years later she still does not enjoy travelling into Manhattan from her home in queens. “I am uncomfortable in Manhattan…You know, there is an apprehension. It can happen again...We see it all the time now. We see it in France, we [saw] it out west.” As a police officer she was trained to be cautious, but terrorist attacks have her made more leery than ever. “You know, it makes you more aware of what’s around you. You’re just more cautious [with] people.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489532791143-9JC85V8UURCK2HD056RS/image-asset.jpeg Through the Dust Charles Diaz doesn’t like being called a hero. “One thing that bothers me, when people call me a hero, is I correct them right away. I say no I’m not a hero. The heroes are the people that died that day. Those are the heroes.” That day, as the first plane hit World Trade Center 1, Charles Diaz rushed to help from his post in Staten Island. As the first tower collapsed around him, he fell to the pavement, breaking his arm. “I’m trying to get up, I couldn’t get up, the force of everything coming down, and I just put my arms over my head. [I] said a little prayer, and figured that was it, it was over”. His thoughts turned to his daughter’s sweet sixteen party, scheduled for that Friday. “That was my surviving thing. I had to get out of there. I had to make it out of there for [her party].” His father daughter dance that Friday, his arm in a cast, was “the best feeling in the world”. Now, as his daughter turns 31, he is still reeling from the lasting effects of 9/11. He is told that at night, especially around the anniversaries, he jumps out of bed and starts running. He doesn’t remember. He does remember vivid dreams “about the guys I was with and what I saw, what I heard. I heard the bodies hitting, you know, the people jumping out of the buildings… that’s still in my head, and it’s never going to go away obviously.” In late 2013, Charles was diagnosed with bones marrow leukemia, a 9/11-related cancer with no cure. His neck is scarred from a lymph node biopsy, which revealed sarcoidosis, another condition linked to 9/11 responders and volunteers. “People are still dying from [9/11]…its still happening…they should be remembered also. And they’re not.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489532358433-CTGPQY31RW1O737FYEDX/image-asset.jpeg Through the Dust For months Anthony Miranda after the towers came down he worked on the pile in command of a crew of 8 fellow police officers. His most vivid memory, one that still comes to him in his dreams, was uncovering a man and woman clinging together beneath the rubble. “9/11 for me was the worst tragedy that could ever happened to anybody, but it gave us the greatest opportunity, a vision of hope in the response… all over America there was no separation between us. There was no rich, there was no poor, there was no black, there was no white.” “Then we saw it crumble. And that’s more heartbreaking than anything else. You saw what was possible and [we] couldn’t keep it together.” “15 years later when you see the people who are working across the stage and the people they’re talking about, if you look at the families they’re talking about, you don’t see too many people of color… It’s an exclusive club now of who gets to speak on the issue of 9/11” “Look at all the ceremonies…who gains access to it now? I don’t know too many poor families that get to walk through there. Where are the working people that were [there], the kitchen folks, the regular people?” “But for that moment in time where the rules were broken, we shook the foundation of our beliefs… we had a chance to grab hold of something that would have changed us forever if everybody would have just kept the faith and kept that camaraderie. “Somewhere along the line, we’ve lost the truth of what happened and we lost the truth of purpose. There was a unity message there.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489530604501-9QWHY19PIVT2LSOYAV6L/image-asset.jpeg Through the Dust “I think Trump is something of a post-9/11 phenomenon. He uses [9/11] for his demagoguery, bigotry and racism” Arthur Gudeon, has practiced podiatry out of Rego Park, Queens for the past 56 years. After the towers came down he immediately started volunteering his podiatry services. Working out of George Washington’s pew in the St. Paul’s Chapel right across from ground zero he treated foot injuries suffered by the men and women working on the pile. When asked about the political climate post 9/11, Gudeon opposes the “the Trump mentality and stopping all Muslims from coming into the country. One of my own office assistants happens to be Muslim. She’s a young, intelligent, beautiful, peace-loving person.” He has become very close with her family and they have made it clear to him that “It’s not a Muslim thing, it’s an extremist thing.” “I’m going to vote for the ones I feel are trying to get more towards the unity…not focus on the retaliation end of it because you’re never going to get anyplace with that. No matter what you do there is always going to be another group that’s going to take over [for] the group that you’ve retaliated against.”   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489535313967-5BLOXMMLM1HYGO4OU5OR/image-asset.jpeg Through the Dust “I think a lot of people made a decision that [Muslim] people were all evil… People didn’t like the way they looked; they didn’t like the way they dressed. They kept to themselves. Well, they kept to themselves, because nobody made them feel comfortable, and they’re certainly not making them feel comfortable today.” Patricia Workman has always loved to travel. She worked as a travel agent to earn moments to herself wandering the world. After the World Trade Center came down, she dropped everything to volunteer for the next two and half years. She dedicated her life to helping the responders and the families of the victims. Years later, she started developing small fractures all over her body. In July of 2008 she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer now covered by the federal World Trade Center Health Program, 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. “My life changed drastically. You know, I [couldn’t] travel anymore… I was breaking bones like crazy. I had fractures all over the place. I had undergone stem cell, [and] I was on maintenance medication for cancer.” When she underwent stem cell therapy, her skin “cancers became much, much worse. I literally at one time had almost 150 stitches on my face.” Although Patricia can no longer travel freely she feels “very fortunate that in my travels I spent a great deal of time in the Middle East,” where she found the people “to be very wonderful, sociable, welcoming people who wanted the same things we want…They’re no different than we are.” “Fear plays a big role… once people know each other, they’re not so fearful of each other, because everybody’s pretty much the same underneath it all.” “I think we have to stop pointing fingers at people that have nothing to do with what’s going on. We have to stand together as Americans.... [Muslim] people are as American as you and I are, and they have to be made to feel that way.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56ec293c22482e7119a554d9/1489535626423-EJ7PO9RARYNFJYML8J1Y/ThroughTheDustWEBSITE-6.jpg Through the Dust Nick Rotondo 9/11 Responder- MTA Bus Operator For 34 years Nick Rotondo drove a MTA bus weaving through the bustling traffic of New York City. On September 11th, 2001 just after the second plane hit the world trade center the New York Police department commandeered his bus. For 18 straight hours he shuttled police, firefighters, and equipment to and from ground zero. The events of September 11th, 2001 reminded Nick of the fragility of life. In 2004, he turned his passion into a profession. Nick the Balloonatic was born. He considers himself blessed to make a living delivering happiness as a balloon artist all sorts of functions and events. “I go to visit sick children also… I get such joy out of it because if I could take the pain away from them for that minute or two minutes or three minutes being silly, being funny, you know, I love it…I love making balloons, it’s wonderful.” Nick noticed that after September 11th, 2001 driving a bus in NYC had changed overnight. “If you saw even anything, a bag or something, you had to call in” Most of the time it was nothing more then the remnants of someone’s breakfast, nevertheless “Everybody was on pins and needles.” Police started stopping his bus to ask if everything was normal, sometimes boarding in groups to look things over. “They would just drive around like 30 cars with their lights on just to show force, and it’s a shame that we have to live this way. It’s just a shame. Sometimes I tell my wife you watch the news… I go to cartoons—you watch the news, everything is depressing.” http://www.jonahmarkowitz.com/print daily 0.75 2017-03-22