Photograph by
Oliver, Tommy, American, born 1984
Subject of
Mattie, Corie
Unidentified Man or Men
Unidentified Woman or Women
Floyd, George Perry Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
Date
June 14, 2020
Medium
digital
Dimensions
H x W: 4480 pixels × 6720 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 a banner by Corie Mattie displayed during the All Black Lives Matter march in Hollywood, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. The image depicts the large white banner tethered to a chain link fence that forms a wall of a multi-storied, concrete parking garage. Painted, stenciled, large, black text across the front of the banner reads [RACISM IS A / PANDEMIC.]. On the left side of the banner, slightly over the letter “R” in [RACISM], is partially visible, reversed, upside down, white stenciled text that also reads [RACISM / IS A / PANDEMIC / #[LAHOPE?]DEALER]. On the right are two stenciled illustrations of doves in flight and above a black, hand painted initials and a black, stenciled hashtag in the bottom right corner that reads [CM #LAHOPEDEALER]. Mattie is clinging to the fencing to the left of the sign, photographing it with her cell phone. She is wearing a black shirt T-shirt, striped shorts, sunglasses, square shaped drop earrings, a bandana around her neck, a black face mask with a white graphic, and a light tone backpack over her shoulders. The initials [CM] tattooed on her proper right hand matches the [CM] painted in the bottom right corner of the banner. Below this sign at street level are the heads of a group of protesters, many of whom are wearing face masks, or other types of protective face coverings, and a couple of protesters carrying protest signs. There is a parked car visible inside the parking garage.
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
Art
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
2021.31.68
Restrictions & Rights
© Tommy Oliver
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5feb0f696-851c-497e-8f85-a46013911cd2

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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