The American Scholar: Unconventional Conventions

Barry Goldstein

In July, Barry Goldstein sent us formal portraits of delegates, protesters, and other attendees at the 2016 Republican National Convention. At the Democratic National Convention, where we were denied press credentials, he turned his lens on the demonstrations outside the arena. Below are a few of our favorite images from his portfolio.

Complete RNC Series: Preview • Day One • Two • Three • Four

Complete DNC Series: Day One • Two • Three • Four

Amanda Ribarchik, digital marketer, Philadelphia: “I lived in Japan for five years, which has sort of a universal health care–type system. Everybody pays into it. You can go down to the clinic or hospital and have affordable health care that everyone has a right to, and the world didn’t fall apart because of that. And I don’t understand how that can be a bad thing.”
Moshie O’Connor, Norwich, Connecticut: “What brings me here is the anger I feel at what feels like the loss of our democracy. I feel that right now as a country we are teetering. We can go in one direction or the other, and I feel like we are teetering in the wrong direction. If we can’t stop this, what happened during this election cycle—we’ll never be able to stop it. We’ll never get money out of politics. I work for an investment fund that shall remain nameless [laughs]. They know how I feel. They know who I support. I get picked on a lot in the office. I don’t hate wealthy people. I’m not trying to burn anything down. I want to live in a society that’s fair. I worked very hard for everything I have in my life. I’m very proud of my work. I’m not looking to get a handout from anyone. I’m looking for fairness. If I have to pay a certain amount in taxes, then you should, too.”
Ruth McNeil; guest (Columbus, Ohio): “For me, it’s really critical to know that the next president is going to choose judges who will support the Constitution rather than legislate from the bench. All across this country, we’re seeing states that are prohibiting men and women of God from proselytizing in their pulpits. We’ve already seen that the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer have been taken from our schools.”
Amy Hedke; alternate delegate (Waxahachie, Texas): “I was a homeschooling mom of five for 15 years and actively avoiding partisan politics, until I got sucked in by the Ron Paul campaign. I’m an anarchist working within the Republican Party. They say ‘the consent of the governed.’ But if you don’t consent, you get governed anyway, and they will govern your butt right into jail.”
stiks bubbleman: “I’m here to check out the scene. This is what I do. This is where the people are. Besides launching bubbles over the fence against the DNC, what else can you do? Everything’s slid so far to the right in the last few decades that Nixon would be too liberal to be a Democrat. Reagan even would be too liberal to be a Democrat. The Pentagon takes over half our budget. They’re not elected. Who let that happen? I think the people who did that are on the other side of this fence. So I’m just out here having fun blowing bubbles against ‘de-fence.’”
Oliver Taylor, son of John Taylor, alternate delegate (Germantown, Maryland): “I’m six and a half years old. I like the convention, and I like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” John: “I started out helping Mr. Trump really early in the campaign. I went to New Hampshire and South Carolina, and Oliver noticed that I was leaving to go work, and he took an interest. So I started taking him along to some of the campaign events. Oliver went and knocked on doors, he put up yard signs, and he helped man the office in Frederick, Maryland, for Mr. Trump. Oliver became a real asset in Maryland and West Virginia for Mr. Trump, and so he earned his way here.”
Zandra Price: “I am extremely committed to Bernie. For the first time in my life there’s a candidate who says the things that I believe. And that’s amazing. I’ve been a socialist all my life. I was a registered socialist in the 1950s. I just believe in socialism and equality, and I’m very antiwar—it all fits together: war, environmental destruction, inequality. I was arrested a couple of times at demonstrations in the past, and I’d be arrested in support of the things that Bernie stands for—they’re that important.”

Alfred Price: “In the end, climate change is an existential problem. And we’ve faced existential problems before as a society. Money doesn’t matter then. It didn’t matter during the Depression, when we solved the Dust Bowl and limited the work week to 40 hours or created social security. These came out of the Depression, when there was no money. Climate is the be-all, end-all issue, as far as I’m concerned. I have my doubts that either one of the parties will do anything. I don’t believe in giving up, but I’m not optimistic.”
Doris Arnold; delegate (Jackson, Tennessee): “Last week I turned 81. I was born in 1935. When I grew up, all my folks were Democrats. I don’t think I ever heard the word Republican. I didn’t leave the Democratic party, it left me. They’re nothing like they were in the ’40s. I don’t understand it. I’m going to do everything I can to get Donald Trump elected.”
Sahar Alsahlani: “I’m here with the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, to spread a message that a lot of people around the country of faith, or no faith, are trying to come together and combat the rhetoric that’s dividing the nation. I was here earlier with the group of ‘Nuns on a Bus’ that’s traveling around the country. I’m staying with an Episcopal dean of the trinity church and her partner. There’s just a great big coalition of people of faith that are coming together. We’re just here to tell everyone who we are, and that we do have the potential to mobilize our voters, to lobby, and to collectively effect change.”
Terry Kaye: “Trump’s nomination is just preposterous, outrageous, unacceptable. And I don’t know what to do about it, but I came up with this. I’m dressed as a Muslim. Among many of his disparagements, he’s suggested we keep Muslims out, as well as refugees. I mean, that’s just ridiculous.
Dion Starnes; delegate (Denton, Texas): “I’ve been involved in politics since 1991. We are where we are because we’re not doing our jobs as citizens. You don’t have people getting out [to vote]. Government affects every aspect of your life. For me, [this election] comes down to the Supreme Court, and I know what I’m going to get with Hillary.”
Laurie; alternate delegate (Hawaii): “I came [to the Convention] to stand as a Republican. I like their morals, and what they stand for. Hawaii has been a Democratic state for too long, and I believe it just needs change. [Republicans] just stand for what’s right.”
Noon Salih; producer, Al Jazeera Up Front: “I was born in Sudan. I was raised all over the world, and came to the U.S. in 2004. I am here as a journalist, but I wear my identity on my sleeve. This convention is different. Donald Trump is a divisive, contentious individual. As a someone who is a minority in every sense of the word—a black Muslim woman—I’ve heard a multitude of statements he’s made that have been a direct attack on someone like me.”
Anne Mazone; delegate (Grimes, Texas) and Methodist pastor: “The Republican party feels that you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but if you don’t have any straps to pull yourself up by. Black men have always been an endangered species. We have a crisis in this country. It’s about the division in the American body—black and white, wealth and no wealth. As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We need to talk about race. It’s the elephant in the room. You end up with resentments on both sides. But we’ve got one country, and we are all part of it.”