Photograph by
Oliver, Tommy, American, born 1984
Subject of
Unidentified Man or Men
Unidentified Woman or Women
Floyd, George Perry Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
Lacey, Jackie, American, born 1957
Till, Emmett, American, 1941 - 1955
Evers, Medgar, American, 1925 - 1963
Byrd, James Jr., American, 1949 - 1998
Diallo, Amadou, Guinean, 1975 - 1999
Bell, Sean, American, 1983 - 2006
Grant, Oscar, American, died 2009
Martin, Trayvon, American, 1995 - 2012
Davis, Jordan, American, died 2012
Garner, Eric, 1970 - 2014
Brown, Michael Jr., 1996 - 2014
Ford, Ezell, American, died 2014
Akai Gurley, 1986 - 2014
Tamir Rice, 2002 - 2014
Hill, Anthony, American, 1988 - 2015
Scott, Walter, American, 1965 - 2015
Gray, Freddie, American, 1990 - 2015
Glenn, Brandon, American, died 2015
Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles, American, founded 2013
Date
June 3, 2020
Medium
digital
Dimensions
H x W: 6720 pixels × 4480 pixels
File size: 172.29 MB
Caption
Photographer Tommy Oliver is an award-winning producer and cinematographer in television and film. Best known for his 2020 documentary 40 Years a Prisoner on HBO, his docuseries Black Love (2017–2020) on OWN, and his feature film The Perfect Guy (2015), Oliver challenges audiences to question their assumptions about race, gender, and family. The film Kinyarwanda (2011), which Oliver co-produced, weaves together narratives of resilience during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It won the Sundance Film Festival’s award for World Cinema Drama and was recognized as one of the top 10 films of 2011. This photograph is part of a broader portfolio of images taken during Black Lives Matter rallies in Los Angeles between May 31 and June 14, 2020.
Description
A digital, black-and-white image of an unidentified protester at a Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles protest against District Attorney Jackie Lacey in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. The protester is depicted from the thighs up, standing, and facing the viewer. His proper right arm is raised above his head with three fingers splayed. He is holding his proper left arm at his waist, cradling a two, small cartons of chalk in his proper left hand. He is wearing a black headband over his forehead and has a palm leaf patterned handkerchief tied over his mouth and nose. He is also wearing jeans and a black, short sleeve T-shirt with white text down the front center that reads [Em[mett&?] / Medg[ar&?] / James& / Amadou& / Sean& / Oscar& / Trayvon& / Jordan& / Eric& / Mike& / Ezell& / Akai& / Tamir& / Anthony& / Walter& / Freddie& / [Bran?]don]. The man is within a crowd of protesters, most of whom are wearing face masks or other types of protective face coverings.
Place captured
Downtown LA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Photographs and Still Images
Movement
Black Lives Matter
Type
digital images
digital media - born digital
Topic
Activism
Justice
Photography
Police brutality
Race relations
Resistance
U.S. History, 2001-
Urban life
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommy and Codie Oliver
Object number
2021.31.36
Restrictions & Rights
© Tommy Oliver
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5904d392b-0285-40a1-9b56-7c84ad6b8afb

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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