Student documents Richmond's summer of unrest

RICHMOND, Va. -- It is one thing to watch the social justice movement on television or read about it online. It's another to experience it firsthand.

"I was watching the protests on the news. I told my mom that it's something I felt like I needed to do," Christian Johnson, a senior at Richmond's St. Christopher's School, said.

Christian spent days in Richmond this summer, documenting what he saw with his camera.

"They're not just pictures to make the protesters look violent or pics to make the protests look as peaceful as possible," he said. "They're just raw pictures of what was actually happening."

"He came back after the summer, the first day of school, and was really excited to show me these pictures that he had taken at the protests," digital arts teacher Amanda Livick said. “He showed me one on his phone that had the American flag and it was just striking."

St. Christopher's dedicated a hallway to Christian's photography and a testimonial of his time downtown.

He said he hoped fellow students and others who see the pictures will understand one thing.

"First and foremost, I hope that people, when they see the pictures, that they'll realize that it wasn't just riots and a lot of violent people with ill intention," he said. "It's more that people are protesting and just want change in the country."

Powerful pictures are capturing moments and Building Better Minds.