Untitled: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A digital, black-and-white image of Michael B. Jordan speaking at a Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles protest in Century City, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Jordan is depicted just right of center, addressing a crowd of protesters. He is shown from the waist up, standing above the crowd, turned in three quarters pose, and facing the left edge of the photograph. He is speaking into a microphone in his proper right hand as he looks out over the crowd. He is wearing a black, short sleeve T-shirt, black leather gloves, and a necklace with a metal pendant over his chest. The crowd of protesters surrounding Jordan, watching him speak, are all wearing face masks or other types of face coverings. Behind Jordan on the left, a male protester is holding a large, partially obscured, white sign with dark bubble text that reads [BLACK / LiVeS /[M]ATT[ER]], with a heart symbol dotting the letter “i” in [LiVes] and forming the top spaces in the letters “A” in [BLACK] and [[M]ATT[ER]]. In front of the large sign is a smaller, white protest sign that reads [NO JUSTICE] and [NO Peace] above and below an encircled [Y] symbol. In the background are white buildings, one with columns. At the center is a building with a rounded exterior and balconies.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: June 6, 2020
• Photograph by: Tommy Oliver, American, born 1984
• Subject of: Michael B. Jordan, American, born 1987
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: George Perry Floyd Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
• Type: digital images
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: H x W: 3699 pixels × 6476 pixels
• Dimensions: File size: 137.1 MB
• Place captured: Century City, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Police brutality
• Object number: 2021.31.56
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommy and Codie Oliver
• 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: © Tommy Oliver Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.