A masculine-presenting person with a curly mullet fluffs their hair while looking at themselves in a mirror. The scene is lit with a hot, high-key flash.
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Dylan Pierson fluffs their mullet after getting a fresh trim on Dec. 6, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. Pierson first got a mullet after having a pompadour for a long time. “I needed a big change,” Pierson said. “And I wanted something edgy, that still showed the artistic side of myself.”

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Dylan Pierson fluffs their mullet after getting a fresh trim on Dec. 6, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. Pierson first got a mullet after having a pompadour for a long time. “I needed a big change,” Pierson said. “And I wanted something edgy, that still showed the artistic side of myself.”

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A teenage Black boy, wearing a white and black cowboy Western shirt and a straw cowboy hat stands with one AirPod in his ear, his thumb stuck in a belt loop on a pair of black jeans.
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Jermey Bryant, 17, listens to rap artist YoungBoy Never Broke Again on June 24, 2023, while waiting to get into the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. The traveling event, visiting St. Louis for the first time since 2018, was Bryant’s third time watching rodeo.

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Jermey Bryant, 17, listens to rap artist YoungBoy Never Broke Again on June 24, 2023, while waiting to get into the St. Louis Open Black Rodeo at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. The traveling event, visiting St. Louis for the first time since 2018, was Bryant’s third time watching rodeo.

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A White woman wearing a green and black plaid skirt and jacket sits on a green couch. The couch is pushed up against a green wall, and directly above the woman hangs a painting of a gazebo, with a green printing matte in the frame.
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St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green is photographed on Nov. 29, 2023, in her office at City Hall in downtown St. Louis. 

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St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green is photographed on Nov. 29, 2023, in her office at City Hall in downtown St. Louis. 

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An Arab woman with shoulder length brown hair stands wearing a black shawl. Sun flares streak across her face, bathing her in a warm glow. She has a sorrowful, but contemplative, expression on her face.
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Linda Badran is photographed on  Dec. 14, 2023, outside her son’s home in Wildwood, Mo. Badran founded the St. Louis chapter of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, an organization that brings Palestinian children to the U.S. to receive medical treatment. 

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Linda Badran is photographed on  Dec. 14, 2023, outside her son’s home in Wildwood, Mo. Badran founded the St. Louis chapter of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, an organization that brings Palestinian children to the U.S. to receive medical treatment. 

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An elderly White man with pure white hair sits at the extreme lower right corner of the frame. He is wearing a blue shirt. Behind him is a set of blue curtains and to his left is a blue door. Light streams in from two windows in the door.
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My grandfather Joe, Christmas Day 2020. During the first year of the pandemic, every interaction we had was tinged with risk and guilt. My grandfather is a robust man. But he is in his 80's. He and my grandmother made an informal pact with my family. At this stage in their lives, losing a year of seeing their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren was worse than death. So, guiltily, we risked it. A few weeks after I made this picture, my grandparents both received their vaccines. In a year full of risk and guilt, my worst fear never came to pass. 

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My grandfather Joe, Christmas Day 2020. During the first year of the pandemic, every interaction we had was tinged with risk and guilt. My grandfather is a robust man. But he is in his 80's. He and my grandmother made an informal pact with my family. At this stage in their lives, losing a year of seeing their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren was worse than death. So, guiltily, we risked it. A few weeks after I made this picture, my grandparents both received their vaccines. In a year full of risk and guilt, my worst fear never came to pass. 

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Artist Aaron Fowler is photographed alongside his sculpture “Live Culture Force 1’s, 2022” on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at the St. Louis Art Museum. Fowler’s work will be on display at the museum through the end of the year, as a part of its exhibit “The Cul
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Artist Aaron Fowler is photographed alongside his sculpture “Live Culture Force 1’s, 2022” on Aug. 25, 2023, at the St. Louis Art Museum. Fowler’s work was on display at the museum through the end of 2023, as a part of its exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.” 

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Artist Aaron Fowler is photographed alongside his sculpture “Live Culture Force 1’s, 2022” on Aug. 25, 2023, at the St. Louis Art Museum. Fowler’s work was on display at the museum through the end of 2023, as a part of its exhibit “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.” 

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An older Black woman, with her hair tied back in a bun and who is wearing a black sweater over a white collared shirt. She is photographed up close, and slightly from below. Behind her is a wall of red lockers.
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Gwen Moore, a historian of African American history and culture at the Missouri History Museum and member of the St. Louis City Reparations Commission, is photographed on Sept. 21, 2023, at the Missouri Historical Society and Research Center.

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Gwen Moore, a historian of African American history and culture at the Missouri History Museum and member of the St. Louis City Reparations Commission, is photographed on Sept. 21, 2023, at the Missouri Historical Society and Research Center.

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A White woman with close cropped blonde hair wearing a white fire fighters dress uniform stands in an office. She is lit from the light of a window, which she is looking out of. The rest of the room is in darkness.
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Belleville Fire Chief Stephanie Mills, photographed on Aug. 24, 2023, at Belleville Fire Department Station 4, is the first female fire chief of Belleville in its 209-year history. "I've worked really hard in my whole career just to be known as a good firefighter — and not qualify it with the female part," Mills said. "But there's no denying that this is special, and that it's a good signal to young women that this is achievable, and that this is a career, should they choose it."

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Belleville Fire Chief Stephanie Mills, photographed on Aug. 24, 2023, at Belleville Fire Department Station 4, is the first female fire chief of Belleville in its 209-year history. "I've worked really hard in my whole career just to be known as a good firefighter — and not qualify it with the female part," Mills said. "But there's no denying that this is special, and that it's a good signal to young women that this is achievable, and that this is a career, should they choose it."

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A woman in a blue jumpsuit and with shoulder-length dyed red hair sits on a couch. Next to her on the couch is a carton of cigarettes. On the wall over her shoulder is a red flower picture. Next to her is a couch side table and lamp.
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Kara Fitzgerald, photographed on  June 26, 2023 at her home in St. Louis. Prior to moving into her new apartment, Fitzgerald had lived at a women's shelter for six months, where she said she faced frequent discrimination from staff and safety concerns because she is transgender.

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Kara Fitzgerald, photographed on  June 26, 2023 at her home in St. Louis. Prior to moving into her new apartment, Fitzgerald had lived at a women's shelter for six months, where she said she faced frequent discrimination from staff and safety concerns because she is transgender.

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A middle-aged Asian man in a blue blazer and tie stands in front of a wall of greenery. The whole scene is warmly lit, with a yellow lit tinge.
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Hongxi Yin, an associate professor in advanced building systems and architectural design, is photographed on Sept. 7, 2023, in Kuehner Court on the campus of Washington University. Yin is on the front lines of research developing sustainable homes that do not pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and provide energy-efficient protection from heat.

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Hongxi Yin, an associate professor in advanced building systems and architectural design, is photographed on Sept. 7, 2023, in Kuehner Court on the campus of Washington University. Yin is on the front lines of research developing sustainable homes that do not pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and provide energy-efficient protection from heat.

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An older Black woman sits in a chair, lit from the side. She is holding a framed picture, which is discolored with age.
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Denise Otey, photographed on Sept. 27, 2023, at her home in the Northwoods neighborhood of St. Louis. Otey’s grandmother Savannah Howard, seen in the framed picture, came to St. Louis around 1960, living in a historically Black area of the city that was eventually turned into an arts district in the name of "urban renewal."

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Denise Otey, photographed on Sept. 27, 2023, at her home in the Northwoods neighborhood of St. Louis. Otey’s grandmother Savannah Howard, seen in the framed picture, came to St. Louis around 1960, living in a historically Black area of the city that was eventually turned into an arts district in the name of "urban renewal."

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An elderly Hispanic woman stands in a warmly lit room, looking out of frame. Behind her is a dance studio mirror, lit with round bulbs. Behind her is a mannequin, decorated with a purple flamenco dance dress.
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Flamenco dancer and instructor Maricel Salascruz is photographed on Oct. 5, 2023, in the flamenco dance studio she operates out of her home’s garage in  St. Louis. Salsacruz studied dance in Costa Rica and in Spain, eventually moving to St. Louis and founding the St. Louis Flamenco Society. “Flamenco has been my savior,” Salsacruz said. “It helped me so much in my life. It is not just doing a simple dance, it is what you feel when you are dancing.”

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Flamenco dancer and instructor Maricel Salascruz is photographed on Oct. 5, 2023, in the flamenco dance studio she operates out of her home’s garage in  St. Louis. Salsacruz studied dance in Costa Rica and in Spain, eventually moving to St. Louis and founding the St. Louis Flamenco Society. “Flamenco has been my savior,” Salsacruz said. “It helped me so much in my life. It is not just doing a simple dance, it is what you feel when you are dancing.”

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© 2025 Tristen Rouse | 417.631.3200 | tristenrousephoto@gmail.com

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