<I>Untitled</I>
date: label: Date
content: May 31, 2020
name: label: Photograph by
content: Tommy Oliver, American, born 1984
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Woman or Women
label: Subject of
content: George Perry Floyd Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
label: Subject of
content: Culver City Police Department, American, founded 1917
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Description
content: A digital, black-and-white image of a line of police officers at a Black Lives Matter protest on Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. The eight police officers are standing with their backs to the viewer, facing the protesters, forming a line across the street. Behind the officers are three motorcycles. Most of the officers are depicted wearing dark uniforms and black police protective equipment: riot helmets with face visors and tactical vests. The officer at the center is wearing a white motorcycle helmet and has a black backpack strapped to his back with illegible white text at the top and the numbers [3641 3641] printed in white text below. Some of the police officers have white text on the back of their vests that reads [POLICE]. There is a Culver City Police Department patch on the proper right arm of the police officer on the far left. Facing the officers, is a large crowd of protesters, many of whom are wearing face masks or other types of protective face coverings and holding protest signs above their heads. Some of the fully and partially visible signs at the center of the crowd have handwritten text that reads [REST IN / POWER / GEORGE FLOYD / 1973[?] – 2020[?], [END POLI[CE?] / BRUTALI[TY?]], [Silence / IS / Betrayal[underlined] / #BLACKLIVESMATTER], [NO JUSTICE / NO PEACE], [THE / SYSTEM / IS RACIST], and [YOUR / Silence will not / [---?]]. Fully visible signs on the right reads, [BLACK / LIVES / MATTER] and [JUSTICE FOR / George Floyd], [DISARM / HATE] and [WE ARE / NOT FREE / UNTIL WE / ARE ALL / EQUAL!]. Other fully visible signs on the left read [STOP COP LYNCHINGS], and [I CAN’T BREATHE]. The protesters are gathered on a street next to a white building on the left with balconies. In the background on the right are street signs, leafy trees, palm trees, and traffic signals. A street sign below a traffic light on the far right reads [Ocean].
place: label: Place captured
content: Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
title: label: Title
content: Photograph of a line of police at a Black Lives Matter protest in Santa Monica
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Justice
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Police brutality
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 2001-
label: Topic
content: Urban life
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
label: Movement
content: Black Lives Matter
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommy and Codie Oliver
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2021.31.9
objectType: label: Type
content: digital images
label: Type
content: digital media - born digital
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Tommy Oliver
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: digital
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 4480 pixels × 6720 pixels
label: Dimensions
content: File size: 172.3 MB