Untitled: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A digital, color image of YG participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in Hollywood, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. YG is depicted at the center of the image, facing the viewer, and with his head turned towards his proper right shoulder. He is wearing a black tank top, black pants, a black studded leather belt, and a black baseball-style cap turned backwards. He is looking towards an unidentified man in the crowd who has both fists raised to chest level in front of him, with his middle fingers extended upwards. The unidentified man is wearing a black, short sleeve T-shirt with a red, yellow, and green graphic on the front and a matching baseball-style cap worn backwards. YG and the unidentified man are surrounded by a large group of protesters, many of whom are wearing face masks or other types of protective face coverings, and some carrying raised protest signs. A large yellow protest sign with handwritten black and red text held over YG’s head reads [JUSTICE / FOR / #GEORGEFLOYD / #BREONNATAYLOR / #AHMAUDARBREY[sic] / #ALTONStERLING / #TRAYVONMARTIN / #ERICGARNER / #STEPHONCLARK / #SANDRABLAND / #SAYTHEIRNAMES]. Other signs read [(L)ATINOS / FOR / BLACK (LIVES)], [THIS IS A / REVOLT / AGAINST / RACISM] and [Justice for / GEORGE FLOYD / Jail Killer / Cops!]. In the background, are multi-storied buildings and leafy trees.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: June 7, 2020
• Photograph by: Tommy Oliver, American, born 1984
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: YG, American, born 1990
• Subject of: George Perry Floyd Jr., American, 1973 - 2020
• Subject of: Breonna Taylor, American, 1993 - 2020
• Subject of: Ahmaud Arbery, American, 1994 - 2020
• Subject of: Alton Sterling, American, died 2016
• Type: digital images
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: H x W: 4175 pixels × 6720 pixels
• Dimensions: File size: 160.58 MB
• Place captured: Hollywood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Police brutality
• Topic: Race relations
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.31.62
• 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.