On View
Visual Arts Gallery
Exhibition
Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Photograph by
Oliver, Tommy, American, born 1984
Subject of
Khan, Janaya, Canadian, born 1987
Unidentified Man or Men
Unidentified Woman or Women
Floyd, George Perry Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
Date
June 7, 2020
Medium
digital
Dimensions
H x W: 4077 pixels × 6115 pixels
File size: 142.7 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, color image of Janaya “Future” Khan addressing a large crowd at a Black Lives Matter protest in Hollywood, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Khan stands at the center with their back to the viewer, facing the crowd on the street in front of them. Khan is depicted from the mid-back up, with their proper right arm raised to head level and fingers splayed. Khan is wearing a black, short sleeve T-shirt. Their hair is pulled up into a bun and it is secured with a black-and-white bandana tied around their forehead. In front of Khan, is a crowd of protesters that has filled the entire width of the street, going back several city blocks. Most of the protesters are wearing face masks or other types of face coverings. Some protesters are holding up cameras, cell phones, and some protest signs. The street is lined with multi-storied buildings, street signs, traffic signals, and palm trees. Painted on the buildings on the far left is a mural of a Ferris wheel behind treelined hills.
Place captured
Hollywood, 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
LGBTQ
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
2021.31.65
Restrictions & Rights
© Tommy Oliver
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd51a48c066-5aed-4933-8309-34be0c2c6be3

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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