"Say Her Name" protest, artist Janelle Monáe and Wondaland Records members perform "Hell You Talmbout" protest song, Atlanta, GA
- On View
- Visual Arts Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Exhibition
- Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
- Photograph by
- Bright, Sheila Pree, American, born 1967
- Subject of
- Monáe, Janelle, American, born 1985
- Christian, Felecia, American
- Christian, Alexia, American, died 2015
- Wonder, Nate "Rocket", American
- Unidentified Woman or Women
- Wondaland Records, American, founded 2015
- Date
- 2015
- Medium
- digital
- Dimensions
- H x W: 6000 pixels × 6000 pixels
- File size (Total): 103.09 MB
- Caption
- Sheila Pree Bright’s images often feature women, as in this image of singer Janelle Monae standing behind a “#SAY HER NAME” sign. Bright celebrates the central role that women historically have played in organizing protests and leading demands for social change. At a Breonna Taylor protest, Bright recalls, “I felt the trauma within the women's voices when they spoke; it was very emotional, fierce, and sobering.”
- Description
- A digital, black-and-white image of Janelle Monáe performing "Hell You Talmbout" during a Black Lives Matter "Say Her Name" protest in Atlanta, Georgia. Monáe is standing left of center. She is wearing a white, long sleeve, polka dot bouse and white cap with a black band and visor. Her head is tilted towards her proper right shoulder, her chin is tilted slightly upwards, her eyes are closed, and she appears to be singing. Her proper right arm rests at her side and her proper left arm is draped over the shoulder of Felecia Christian, the mother of Alexia Christian, standing in the right foreground. Christian, on the right is holding a white protest sign in front of her with black, handwritten marker text that reads [#What happened to / ALEXIA CHRISTIAN / #SAY HER NAME / #STOPKILLINGUS!]. She wears a dark blouse, two chain necklaces, and dark sunglasses. She is facing the viewer with her chin raised, and also appears to be singing. Standing behind Monáe and Christian is Nate 'Rocket' Wonder of the Wondaland Arts Society, singing and clapping his hands. He is wearing a white T-shirt, metal rimmed sunglasses, and a round, broad brimmed hat. Standing in the background behind Monáe, Christian, and Wonder is a gathering of other protesters; some holding protest signs up in the air.
- Place captured
- Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Portfolio/Series
- #1960Now
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Movement
- Black Lives Matter
- Type
- digital images
- digital media - born digital
- Topic
- Activism
- Actors
- American South
- Civil rights
- Composers (Musicians)
- Gospel (Music)
- Justice
- Photography
- Police brutality
- Popular music
- Race relations
- Rappers (Musicians)
- Singers (Musicians)
- U.S. History, 2001-
- Urban life
- Violence
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sheila Pree Bright
- Object number
- 2021.56.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Sheila Pree Bright
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




