Among, Of, and With

History is made and preserved by and for particular classes of people.
A camera in some hands can preserve an alternate history.

— David Wojnarowicz, 1990

There have always been photographers who capture the work of those involved in organized resistance, but there are very few activists who use photography to record the struggle. If Dona Ann McAdams’ only passion were her photography, her legacy—which she continues to shape—would be that of a trailblazer, a visionary, and a uniquely empathetic observer of forgotten, often despised, individuals and communities who have grown tired of bearing burdens they did nothing to create. As a glance at any of her work reveals, though, Dona is more than an observer, more than a gifted collector of moments in time; Dona’s photography exudes a familiarity—a brief respite from the pressures of life, a hand over a heart, a subtle grin in the middle of a warzone—because Dona is among, of, and with those she photographs.

Cutting her teeth in Harvey Milk’s Castro as women and queer people demanded more, perfecting her eye in the East Village as a generation fought an epidemic, lending a hand to the fight against injustice and erasure wherever she lands, Dona is an activist, in the truest sense of the word. And, like all great activists, Dona saves lives by virtue of her presence.

Look around: these aren’t photos of activism; these photos are activism. And they’ll continue to save lives long into a distant future.

Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown are co-authors of We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation and the creators of queerhistory.com and Instagram’s @lgbt_history.

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