In the wake of days of protest involving the injustices faced by the black community across the United States, one image has captured America’s attention: a photograph from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, of a calm-looking female protester standing opposite police officers in riot gear. The woman was later identified as Ieshia Evans.
As the subject of my civic artifact speech, Iesha Evans is an icon in the social movement Black Lives Matters. Powerful and fearless as she is, her bravery has drawn similarities to other peaceful protestors, an important one being Jan Rose Kasmir.
On October 21, 1967, almost 100,000 people marched on Washington, D.C. to peacefully demonstrate around the buildings of the Pentagon in protest against America’s involvement in Vietnam. Among the photographs of thousands of anti war activists, hippies, and students, a picture of 17-year-old Jan Rose Kasmir captured the public eye. In the photo, Jan confronts heavily armed National Guard soldiers with a flower held between her hands. The influential image has come to represent bravery and the power of peaceful protest, and it ultimately helped turn opinion against the Vietnam war.
Like the more recent image of Iesha Evans taking a stand in Baton Rouge, the 1967 image of Jan Rose Kasmir juxtaposes one calm woman against the full force of authority. Both used peace and calmness as a means to confront violence and hatred. We are living in a world where everyone is completely blown away by what’s going on, and the only way to ease this franticness and desperation is by expressing that energy in protest. Both women seek to have others join in peaceful protests involving issues they are passionate about. People do resonate with peace and do resonate with goodness and hope. And the argument here is that a peaceful protest always wins.
I am drawn to both these images because they are relatable in a sense. An individual standing up to a more powerful group that seeks to oppress or suppress her is one that resonates with me and inspires me to defend myself when I am treated unfairly or put at a disadvantage. The women become a blank canvas in which you can place yourself. You, too, become a part of the struggle and the movement. The power these images hold is like no other. They force you to open your eyes and realize that we are the ones who need to act and protest for the rights of others. When something impacts a group of people, we too are impacted.
drg5460 says
Protesting has been a pillar of American society for centuries. We are guaranteed our right to protest in the First Amendment of the Constitution. For many years we have used protesting to make the state pay attention to what the people actually want and care about. In the last decade, police brutality has been brought back to mainstream media after the killings of innocent black men by the police. Monica stated that Iesha Evans is a pillar of the Black Lives Matter movement which has surged over the years. Iesha Evans is depicted in the image peacefully confronting the police. This demonstrates the importance of peaceful protests and how it most likely has a better outcome than violent protests. I like that Monica compared The Black Lives Matter protests to the Vietnam War protests in the 70ś. Both protests are equally important and are meant to bring attention to social injustices ¨the people¨ face.