Michael Keating

Making History Term Paper

12/11/2020

“The Rising” photo exhibit was done by a photographer and journalist named Fiona Lee. Lee is a SUNY Old Westbury alumnus who graduated from the Visual Arts Department. The title “The Rising” is an allude to the Black Lives Matter protests that are happening across the United States as well as many other countries in the world. People of all races and backgrounds are “rising” up against a criminal justice system that unfairly discriminates against certain races, predominantly people of color. Lee took photos of the Black Lives Matter protests occurring in New York City and Long Island. “Dissatisfied with how Black Lives Matter has been covered by mass media, Lee took matters into her own hands, deploying her Nikon D750 to seek authenticity amid the unfiltered truth of the protests.” (Lee). Lee documented these protests from May to July 2020, which were the most eventful and widely covered period of the protests due to the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands (or knee) of a police officer. The exhibit also provides a window into the historic year of 2020 with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic with most of the protestors and police officers wearing masks.

When Fiona Lee set out to document the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020, she wanted to differentiate herself from other media outlets covering the events. Media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, FOX and others were injecting their own commentary and biases into the Black Lives Matter protests. While some outlets were on the ground and interviewing people on both sides of the protest, they were still injecting their own outlook instead of exclusively letting the images or videos of the protests speak for themselves. Lee, like many others, identified this problem with the reporting of the events and took issue with it. Lee used the medium of pictures to convey what she witnessed at these historic events. These moments in time effectively convey her thesis. What Lee’s pictures show that most of the other media outlets are missing out on is that even though there is a lot of contention and anger, there is even more love, solidarity and coming together of people from all backgrounds. The pictures of protestors destroying and setting fire to police vans and tense arguments between protestors and police officers show all of the ugly and angry aspects of these protests. What’s more powerful and compelling is the pictures showing love and the eclectic make-up of the protestors. Some of the pictures show protestors hugging and crying together. Other pictures show protestors raising their fists like “the U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who’d won gold and bronze respectively in the 200-meter sprint, raising black-gloved fists during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City became one of the most iconic sports images of the 20th century.” (Brown). Similarly, other pictures showed protestors taking a knee, in reference to professional football player Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of institutional racism. The most potent aspect of these pictures, in my opinion, is the wide range of demographics represented in the protestors. Young people, elderly people, all races, disabled, even Satanists are pictured supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Another dimension expressed in these pictures is the ongoing historic Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the protestors and some of the police officers in these pictures are wearing face masks. This was also during a point where tens of thousands of people just died from Covid in New York and the city (and most of the state) was in a quarantine for months.

One of the most important pictures in this exhibit is the picture of the protestor with a poster listing all of the names of the people of color who have been killed by police officers or because of their race. The poster reads: George Floyd, Christian Cooper, Tony McDade, Amaud Arbery, Atiana Jefferson, Jonathan Ferell, Renisha McBride, Stephon Clark, Jordan Edwards, Jordan Davis, Alton Sterling, Aiyana Jones, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Charleston 9, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Sandra Bland, Philando Castille, Corey Jones, John Crawford, Terrance Crotcher, Keith Scott, Clifford Glover, Claude Reese, Ralph Evans, Yvonne Shallwood, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and How Many More??? This long list of names is very effective and perfectly showcases what the Black Lives Matter movement is about. All of these unnecessary deaths, most of which were at the hands of law enforcement, are a big part of the reasoning behind the Black Lives Matter movement. People see the deaths of all those listed as cruel, unfair and motivated because they were people of color. This perfectly ties into Lee’s thesis of the exhibit. People of all races, creeds and backgrounds are coming together in an attempt the change a system where that long list of people had their lives taken from them in recent years. As another poster that is pictured says: “No lives matter until Black Lives Matter”. Most people love each other, regardless of race or background, and when someone or a group is in need of help, most people recognize that.

The Rising photo exhibition done by Fiona Lee is a very valuable contribution to the narration and making of history. Lee documented the Black Lives Matter protests, which has happened in reaction to the death of George Floyd at the hands (or knee) of a police officer, and similar deaths of many people of color at the hands of police or based on their race. The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 are an extremely important historical event. Lee is presenting this historical event in a graphic way. Instead of writing about her experiences at the Black Lives Matter protests, she took photographs of them. A primary source is an actual artifact, relic or documentation from the historical period being discussed. This photo exhibition by Fiona Lee is a primary source of the Black Lives Matter protests that have been occurring in 2020. The people being shown in her pictures, as well as Lee herself, have firsthand knowledge and personal experiences of the Black Lives Matter protests. Lee also displays discipline in her reporting of the events. Her pictures of protestors and law enforcement don’t seem to show a particular bias. This is a refreshing representation of the events, with most media platforms infusing a bias with their reporting of the events and either siding with the protestors or with law enforcement. Historiography is the way history is written, documented and authenticated. Fiona Lee successfully provides a source that documents the importance and range of emotions brought on by the Black Lives Matter Protests. It also shows that even though we have come a far way with race relations and the freedom to protest and demonstrate, we still have a long way to go. The tension between people of color and police is extremely palpable in some of Lee’s pictures. Lee also successfully documents what life is like during a global pandemic with most of the people represented in the pictures wearing face masks.

The questions and problems Fiona Lee saw with the reporting of the Black Lives Matter protests were fully answered by the conclusion of her exhibit. Lee, like many others, saw issues with the commentary and narrow outlook of media outlets covering of the Black Lives Matter protests. Lee attempted to be a “fly on the wall” and report and document the events without any of her own personal bias or agenda. By doing this, Lee successfully showed the tension between protestors and law enforcement, the unreported or under reported solidarity and love showed between protestors, as well as the fact that these protests occurred during a historic pandemic. Some of these areas bring closure to the thesis and others raise questions. The fact that the Black Lives Matter protesters span across different ages, races and backgrounds shows the universal popularity of Black Lives Matter. When showing the visibly tense arguments between protestors and law enforcement, the topic and content of the discussion is not documented and left up to question. Another new issue that this exhibit shows is the potential spread of the Coronavirus. Many pictures show protestors breaking social distancing protocols (being within six feet of each other, not wearing masks, gathering in large groups). That being said, the infection rate declined from May to July 2020 (NY Times).

In my opinion, “The Rising” was a very effective, insightful and refreshing documentation of the Black Lives Matter protests. Instead of having to hear some opinion of a talking head or news anchor, Lee’s pictures speak for themselves. The chaos and wild nature of the protests were shown in the pictures of protestors arguing with law enforcement and setting fire to one of the police vans. Having friends who had been to the protests and witnessed some of these fires and arguments, the feeling of intensity and anger is accurately represented in these pictures. Another aspect that I have heard from friends who had been to the protests that is also represented in Lee’s pictures is of the feeling of love and solidarity between protestors. After one of my friends was pepper sprayed and pushed by police, other protestors came to her aide and gave her water and protection. Lee’s pictures of people hugging and crying together were also conveyed to me by my friends and made me regret that I didn’t partake in the protests myself. The reason I didn’t go is because of the ongoing pandemic. While Lee’s pictures show most people wearing masks, many didn’t and gathered into large, tight groups. Even though the infection numbers ultimately declined during the two months of Lee’s reporting, living with people who have underlying health conditions motivated me to continue quarantining. My favorite aspect of Lee’s exhibit is the representation of all races, ages, and backgrounds of the protestors. The fact that people of all different backgrounds support the Black Live Matter movement means that the general public acknowledges that institutional racism is still a major problem in the United States. The picture of the protester holding a poster that lists the names of people of color who were killed is one of the major aspects of why people are getting behind the Black Lives Matter movement. One thing that I would counter to this exhibit is the absence of other forms of institutional racism like disproportionate incarceration of colored people, job discrimination and red lining. While excessive use of force and racial profiling by law enforcement is a problematic facet of institutional racism, these other areas need to be considered and discussed. While black people make up 13% of the population, they make up 40% of the prison population (more than any other demographic). People of color are also hurt economically through things like job discrimination and red lining. Red lining in particular has seen capital accumulate in mostly white neighborhoods, while communities with people of color are left to be impoverished. I found Fiona Lee’s, “The Rising” to be very insightful and a needed contrast to the reporting of the Black Lives Matter protests by most media outlets. Lee’s photo’s lets the events speak for themselves without a bias or agenda. The exhibit also showcased life during the historic Covid-19 pandemic. The only counter I would present is a recognition of other institutional racist facets like job discrimination, red lining and disproportionate incarceration of people of color.

Bibliography

https://www.amelieawallacegallery.org/current

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/09/24/they-didnt-takeaknee- the-black-power-protest-salute-that-shook-the-world-in-1968/

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/nyregion/new-york-city-coronavirus- cases.html

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/US.html