Page 1
Image One:
Text: “On May 1st, an unhoused young Black man named Jordan Neely was strangled to death on a New York subway, opening a new frontier in the hatred and fear of our unhoused neighbors.”
ALT Text: A portrait of Jordan Neely, 1992–2023, is displayed with a solemn expression, commemorating his life.
Image Two:
Text: “The videotaped killing with multiple witnesses was described in passive, victim-blaming language.”
ALT Text: NY Governor Kathy Hochul gestures as she speaks, referencing the media’s portrayal of Neely’s murder ‘People who are homeless in our subways, many of them in the throes of mental health episodes… there’s consequences for behavior.’ In another bubble: “A 30-year-old man died on the subway on Monday after he was placed in a chokehold, the police said. Witnesses said the victim had been acting in a ‘hostile and erratic manner.'” — The New York Times
Image Three:
Text: “The NYPD didn’t even take Neely’s killer, Daniel Penny, into custody on the day of the killing.”
ALT Text: A police officer shrugs, looking unconcerned, symbolizing the lack of immediate accountability for Penny’s actions.
Image Four:
Text: “In a way, none of this is surprising. A society that allows people to die on the streets every day has already decided their lives are worthless.”
ALT Text: A man wearing a hoodie and backpack walks among a crowd of indifferent passersby, representing society’s neglect of unhoused individuals.
Page 2
Image One:
Text: “And how different is vigilante murder from our policy towards the unhoused in Seattle? Advocates have told us in plain language that sweeps kill, and told how they kill: by separating people from survival resources and whatever tenuous community they have.”
ALT Text: A dramatic illustration of a broom sweeping away multiple tiny figures, symbolizing how homeless sweeps forcibly displace and endanger the unhoused.
Image Two:
Text: “A University of Colorado study* of Seattle and 22 other cities has now produced data to back this up: unhoused people suffering from addiction will experience a 25% increase in deaths because of sweeps.”
* Population-level health effects of involuntary displacement of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness who inject drugs in cities.
ALT Text: A portrait of Joshua Barocas, the study’s co-author, appears alongside a speech bubble emphasizing the deadly impact of sweeps, “‘to put it a different way, it means our states and cities are literally killing people with this.”
Image Three:
Text: “This should be of interest to a city whose mayor is a self-proclaimed data enthusiast, having launched a ‘Homelessness Action Plan and Transparency Dashboard’ last year. The dashboard shows spending on sweeps (‘encampment resolutions’) to be twice what’s spent on housing and shelter.”
ALT Text: A suited official presents a data chart while stating, “We’re opening up the data for everyone to see, so you can see what I see.” A citation from Axios 6/1/22 appears below.
Image Four:
Text: “Given that, can we see the deadly outcome of Seattle’s policies as anything but intentional?”
ALT Text: Two activists, Scott Nicholson and Darvin Tan of New Horizons Shelter, stand on the steps of City Hall holding a sign that says “Jordan Neely”, participating in a vigil for unhoused people, 310 unhoused people died in King County in 2022, a year in which the City of Seattle conducted more than 900 sweeps.”
“Thank you, Samantha Nall,” A closing credit thanking the contributor, appearing as a sign-off at the bottom.
