Humans of New York: Illustrating the World

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Art credits to Wanxing Lu!

Jillian Haggard '16

Taken in Lesvos, Greece, a photograph depicts a father and his young daughter seeking refuge after fleeing from danger in the Middle East. Apprehension fills the girl’s eyes. The caption below reads, “[My daughter] saw her mother being crushed by the crowd, and she screamed: ‘Please don’t kill my mother! Kill me instead!’”

This chilling photograph is only one of many that photographer Brandon Stanton captures daily on his photoblog, Humans of New York (HONY). Since 2010, Stanton has shared with the public the snapshots of individual lives in New York City. In his early posts, he only shared photographs of New Yorkers. However, as time progressed, Stanton began interviewing the individuals to include short stories with the images.

One post features a woman who works ninety-five hours a week in three different jobs to send her children to college. Another showcases an immigrant from Yugoslavia who worked as a janitor for twelve years while simultaneously going to school, eventually receiving his degree from Columbia University. Another post features a dejected young boy living in fear because of his homosexuality.

These posts, with their profound stories or down-to-earth reflections, enthrall many around the nation, and the Facebook page boasts over 15 million likes. Some communities have initiated similar Facebook pages, such as Humans of Basking Ridge. The posts certainly spark discussion among viewers, evident within the comment sections. Yet what specifically about HONY attracts the viewers?

Caroline Bedrosian ’19 thinks students find themselves most intrigued by the featured stories: “I believe that Humans of New York is a popular page because it displays the wide diversity of New York’s citizens. Their unique stories give us insight into their authentic lives.”

The stories are certainly unique, and many HONY fans admire the steadfast personalities of the individuals. Stanton has now ventured overseas to depict humans outside of New York, most recently covering refugees from northern Africa and the Middle East in Europe. Last year, he also traveled for fifty days around the world in order to visit diverse countries like Iraq, Ukraine, and India. Still, as unique as the stories may be, the sentiments and emotions expressed in each post are universal and relatable for the wide range of readers that follow HONY.

Brian Fields ‘16 believes this reliability is what makes HONY so popular: “Living in such an affluent community as Basking Ridge, I feel a curiosity to examine the experiences and hardships faced by others. Although they seem different and more interesting than us, these men and women featured are people just like us.”

Due to the popularity of his photo blog, Stanton has branched out and published books with more of his work. In fact, his most recent book, Humans of New York: Stories, debuted on October 14, 2015, featuring never-before-seen photographs and quotes.

Overall, HONY has become very popular with students and adults across the nation. As Fields puts it, “It’s absolutely fascinating to see this.”