Anthony Mackie for Variety

William Widmer March 5, 2021

Took a walk through Tremé with actor Anthony Mackie for a Variety cover feature.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Feb. 19, 2021 - Actor Anthony Mackie photographed in the Tremé District of New Orleans.

2020 Photo Annual Awards

William Widmer December 3, 2020

I’m proud to have three separate entries included in the 2020 Photo Annual Awards in the Magazine/Editorial and Photojournalism categories:

Black Churches Burned in Rural Louisiana

Opelousas, LA - April 7, 2019 - Rev. Gerald Toussaint leads a service at Morning Star Baptist Church. Toussaint serves as pastor at two Baptist churches in the area, and moved both under one roof after Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church burned down on Apr

Opelousas, LA - April 7, 2019 - A church attendee prays during a Sunday service at Keystone Masonic Lodge in downtown Opelousas. The congregation of Greater Union Baptist Church has moved to the masonic lodge since their church burned down on April

“‘They Didn’t Burn Down Our Spirit’: Louisiana Black Churches Defiant Amid Fires” - The New York Times

“They’re Haunted by ‘Ghost Warrants’ Years After Their Arrests” - The Marshall Project

Migrant workers rebuilding Panama City area following Hurricane

“Hurricane Chasers: An Immigrant Work Force on the Trail of Extreme Weather” - The New York Times

Hurricane Delta for The New York Times

William Widmer October 14, 2020

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - Oct. 11, 2020 - Employees at EMI Fabrication traveled from Houston to volunteer in hurricane cleanup efforts. Lake Charles was hit hard by Hurricane Laura earlier this fall, and barely had a chance to begin the clearing

NYTSTORM - JENNINGS, LA - Oct. 9, 2020 - The morning after Hurricane Delta swept through the small town of Jennings, located along I-10, downed trees and power lines block residential streets.

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - Oct. 11, 2020 - Lake Charles was hit hard by Hurricane Laura earlier this fall, and barely had a chance to begin the clearing and rebuilding process before Hurricane Delta swept through, knocking down trees and power li

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - Oct. 9, 2020 - Frank Harrison (L) and Dave Dixon empty a load of debris that they collected from nearby lots. The two men traveled from Miami to volunteer in relief efforts after Hurricane Laura. Lake Charles was hit ha

NYTSTORM - Iowa, LA - Oct. 9, 2020 - Small communities like Iowa were hit hard by Hurricane Laura earlier this fall, and barely had a chance to begin the clearing and rebuilding process before Hurricane Delta swept through, knocking down trees and p

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - Oct. 11, 2020 - Lester Rubit sits in his truck, which was smashed by a collapsed hotel walkway during Hurricane Laura. Lake Charles was hit hard by Hurricane Laura earlier this fall, and barely had a chance to begin the

Yet another hurricane hit Southwestern Louisiana last week, and reset the timeline for rebuilding from Hurricane Laura, which crashed through six weeks ago. It’s been such a long year.

Hurricane Laura for The New York Times

William Widmer September 2, 2020

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 26, 2020 - Local residents gathered at the Burton Complex, an event center in Lake Charles, for assisted evacuation. The city of Lake Charles and members of the US military ran a joint effort to move citizens out

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 25, 2020 - Sandbags block the door of an office building in downtown Lake Charles in advance of Hurricane Laura's arrival.

NYTSTORM - Rayne, LA - August 25, 2020 - Eastbound traffic on Interstate 10 crawled forward in advance of Hurricane Laura's arrival in Calcasieu Parish.

NYTSTORM - Abbeville, LA - August 25, 2020 - Local residents finish boarding up windows at an auto shop near downtown Abbeville as the first waves of rain begin to fall in advance of Tropical Depression Marco's arrival

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 26, 2020 - Renee Allred (19, center) and her family settle into a coach bus bound for Baton Rouge. Local residents gathered at the Burton Complex, an event center in Lake Charles, for assisted evacuation. The cit

NYTSTORM - Westlake, LA - August 26, 2020 - The outer bands of Hurricane Laura approached Lake Charles and the surrounding landscape of oil and chemical refineries located along the Calcasieu River.

NYTSTORM - Westlake, LA - August 27, 2020 - A fire burned at a BioLab industrial site across the Calcasieu River from downtown Lake Charles. Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the surro

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Members of Empact Northwest, a non-profit search and rescue team based in Kingston, Washington search through a storm-damaged gas station after neighbors reported someone may have been trapped inside w

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 28, 2020 - The entire front wall of a beauty supply shop collapsed when the hurricane passed through town.Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the sur

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the surrounding area.

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Lincoln Cole (64) attempts to mop water from his apartment and the hallway in Chateau Du Lac, an eight story residential building near downtown Lake Charles that sustained massive damage in the previo

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 28, 2020 - The entire roof of a three story Motel 6 was ripped off as the hurricane passed through town. Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the surr

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Members of the Army National Guard cleared downed trees and debris from the streets of downtown Lake Charles. Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Char

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 28, 2020 - Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the surrounding area.

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 28, 2020 - Javier Palacias (43) stands outside the collapsed wall of his apartment at a Motel 6 where he's lived for the past six years while performing property maintenance. The entire roof of the building was r

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Westlake, a small community across the river from Lake Charles that is surrounded by industrial plants, is obscured by smoke from a large fire in a BioLab industrial site across the interstate. Hurrica

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Members of the Louisiana National Guard search through a storm-damaged gas station after neighbors reported someone may have been trapped inside when the roof collapsed. Hurricane Laura's high winds an

NYTSTORM - Lake Charles, LA - August 27, 2020 - Patrick Watson (56) sat in the shade of a storm-damaged gas station in downtown Lake Charles. Hurricane Laura's high winds and storm surge had a devastating impact on downtown Lake Charles and the surr

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NYT: Hurricane Laura in Pictures

NYT: Hurricane Laura Kills at Least 6 People in Louisiana

NYT: Hurricane Laura Was Powerful, but Louisiana Was Prepared

Mass Incarceration During the Pandemic for The New Yorker

William Widmer July 16, 2020

New Orleans, LA - April 6, 2020 - The parking lot of the old courthouse jail, which now sits empty one block from a new $145 million complex opened in 2015, sits empty in the late afternoon sun.

New Orleans, LA - April 6, 2020 - The New Orleans Justice Center, a $145 million complex opened in 2015, looms over residential buildings in the surrounding Mid-City neighborhood.

Decarceration During Coronavirus Pandemic

New Orleans, LA - April 6, 2020 - The old Orleans Parish Prison building, which sits empty one block from a new $145 million complex opened in 2015, still looms over the surrounding residential Mid-City neighborhood.

“In late March, Governor John Bel Edwards announced that Louisiana had the fastest-growing coronavirus infection rate in the world. According to state reports at the end of last year, Louisiana also had the highest incarceration rate in the country. The pandemic posed an immediate threat in the state’s jails, where cells are crowded and poorly sanitized, and people frequently cycle in and out of custody. Since 2013, the main jail in Orleans Parish has been under a consent decree for what the Department of Justice called “dangerous and unacceptable” conditions, including “inadequate medical care.” Prisons, too, present a contagion risk; they have less rapid turnover than jails, but staff come and go, and large populations and underfunded health services make outbreaks hard to contain.”

Community groups have pointed out the social costs of the prison system for decades. Now the pandemic has exposed its public-health risks.

The New Yorker: Will the Coronavirus Make Us Rethink Mass Incarceration?

Anthony Mackie for Variety

2020 Photo Annual Awards

Hurricane Delta for The New York Times

Hurricane Laura for The New York Times

Mass Incarceration During the Pandemic for The New Yorker

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