Brandon Stanton set up the Humans of New York blog in 2010.
It was a way of putting all the varied, interesting, unique people of New York City officially on the map; letting them tell their own story, quite apart from the stereotyping, generalising and deliberate obfuscation of the mass media.
Since beginning his blog, Brandon has travelled further afield - to Iran, to capture the personal stories after the Boston Marathon bombings, to Kenya, to South Sudan and beyond.
The throughline is always the same - letting people tell their own and often very powerful stories; uniting the people of the world via their profound, sometimes painfully personal humanity.
Something quite remarkable happened this week, though.
For once, the Humans of New York blogger, who usually stays behind the lens, decided to walk out in front of it and demand a share of the voice for himself.
Brandon Stanton has penned a powerful open letter addressed to Donald Trump and it is safe to say that it's being very well received.
Straight to the point, Brandon condemns Trump for inciting racism and violence of the sort that Humans of New York has sought to coutneract:
'I’ve watched you retweet racist images. I’ve watched you retweet racist lies. I’ve watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy. I’ve watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to ‘pay the legal fees’ of those who commit violence on your behalf.'
'I am a journalist, Mr. Trump. And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm— the hateful one is you.'
Trump, whose stance on immigration is very strict, ostensibly advocates a world vision completely apart from the one that Humans Of New York celebrates - one in which different races exist in isolation.
IMAGES: GETTY/ Humans Of New York
FURTHER READING
Lana Del Rey Gives Her Thoughts On Donald Trump
Natasha Bird is the Former Executive Editor (Digital) of ELLE.
