1972 Republican Convention

My first newspaper travel assignment was the 1972 Republican Convention in Miami.

The Orlando Sentinel assigned me to cover Flamingo Park, where protesters were consigned to allow them the freedom to express themselves without interference.

Of course, that didn’t last too long as groups ranging from the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to the Students for a Democratic Society knew by taking their protests to the convention center and Miami Beach, their message of intolerance for the war and Nixon would be more visible and show greater witness.

I had known for several months that I would be assigned to Flamingo Park, so I allowed my hair to grow much longer than normal, much to the dismay of my mother, who was gleeful that I’d be at Nixon’s convention but preferred I didn’t look like the angry anti-war hippies I’d be covering.

Below are the unprinted photos I made while in Miami. Although the protesters were angry, loud, and active, few moments of protest made the newspaper. Most of what I shot never made it to the presses.

Photo gallery below is for paid subscribers.

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