Cellphone video of a protest against police brutality on Capitol Hill: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A digital video of protesters on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, following the death of George Floyd. The video was captured with an iPhone X cellphone and contains color and sound. In the opening frame, several protesters can be seen holding their hands in the air. In the center of the frame, a uniformed, unmasked US Capitol Police officer can be seen standing directly in front of a masked protestor. The officer wears a baseball cap and dark eyeglasses while the protester wears a gray mask and black t-shirt. Other masked protesters in the crowd hold up placards reading [AM I / NEXT], [DEMAND / CHANGE] [DEMILITARIZE / THE / ???] [NO JUSTICE / NO PEACE], [I / CAN'T / BREATHE], all the while chanting "Hands up! Don't shoot!" in a call-and-response fashion. As the camera pans right, a line of police officers can be seen in front of the protesters as well as individuals capturing the activities with both cellphones and professional video cameras. Towards the end of the clip, the Library of Congress' Jefferson building can be seen in the background as well as a crane out in the distance.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2020
• Recorded by: Darren Matthew Haynes, American
• Subject of: George Perry Floyd Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
• Subject of: United States Capitol Police, American, founded 1828
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 00:00:09
• Dimensions: 9.4 MB
• Place filmed: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Police brutality
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2021.79.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Darren M. Haynes and the Haynes Family
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Darren M. Haynes Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.