ICP Photograph

There were many photographs in the gallery that were very powerful and meaningful. However, the one photograph that immediately caught my attention is the “A black protest is chalked on wall outside the Johannesburg city hall by resentful Native.” 

In this picture there is a white man with his back turned to a wall that says “God is Black.” These words are handwritten in white chalk and boxed in. The wall seems to be in the center of the town as there are many buildings surrounding the wall. No one seems to be disturbed by these words or seems to take any notice of it.  There are many people out on the streets but no one seems to take notice of the wall. However, the people out on the streets all seem to be white, educated, wealthy upperclassmen that have no concern for the black minority. The man with his back to the wall seems to be headed somewhere a he is carrying what seems like a piece of paper in his had. He is right foot is forward as if he is walking away from the wall. Furthermore, the man’s attention is somewhere else as he seems to be looking into the distance opposite of the wall. The man is well dressed and seems to be very young. On the other hand, the wall may be old as it is slightly chipped and worn down. The wall on which the words are written on look somewhat like a tombstone.

The picture depicts the disregard for the blacks during the time period. The statement on the wall is such a bold statement and yet no one seems to paying attention to it. The man having his back turned to the wall is s a symbol of how the blacks were treated with disrespect.  The voices of the blacks were ignored and were not heard and therefore they suffered discrimination. The way the man is walking away from the wall could represent him walking away from justice.