Darren Ell Photography

Organized popular protest dates back millennia and continues throughout the world today. Once cynically called “an excess of democracy” in the US, protest is one of many forms of popular engagement with the issues of the day. Animated by perceived injustice and a desire for change, effective protest operates on the visible level (crowds and signs), designed to attract cameras and educate the public. It also operates on a level where cameras rarely go: meetings, petitions, educational activities, organizing on social media and so on. Large scale popular protest inevitably draws a reaction from the authorities, and it is not always peaceful, as can be seen in some of these images. My passion for social justice and politics inevitably leads me to the street wherever I am. While some of these photographs have been taken in the US, Haiti and Greece, my home city of Montreal with its large diverse immigrant population is often the site of demonstrations of international solidarity.