PHOTO ESSAY by Kenny Wassus

I’d never been to Baltimore before; the city was, to me, just the home of the Orioles. What I encountered when I got there was a place where buildings were being looted and torched, where the gulf between citizens and police had widened and cracked. My editor told me not to get distracted by the shiny things. And yet, when I arrived, at 10:00 p.m. on the first night of heavy unrest, I followed the lights and smoke. Instead of violent demonstrators, on that night and the day following, I found mostly crying people in burnt homes, laughing firemen and bored police, sad proprietors, a regretful mayor, and hollow streets.

Click on any photo to begin the slide show.

KennyWassus

Kenny Wassus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenny Wassus is a journalist for Independent Journal Review based out of Washington, D.C. He attended DePaul University, earning a master’s degree in writing and publishing. Using photos, film, and the written word, he covers politically driven human-interest stories. In the past, he has reported on urban planning, transportation issues, and public health. His work has been featured in The Huffington Post, Model D, and The Ann magazine.

 

SLAG GLASS CITY • Volume 1 • May 2015
Image credits: all photo essay images by Kenny Wassus.