Viral Photo of Woman in Protest Being Called ‘Iconic’

Of all the photos emerging from the Black Lives Matter protests around the United States, one particular shot is getting widespread attention and praise. Reuters photographer Jonathan Bachman captured a powerful shot of a black woman standing in a street as two police officers in riot gear approach to arrest her.

The moment occurred on Saturday, July 9th, 2016, after the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana ordered protesters to clear the public roadway or risk being arrested. The woman in the frame, identified as a 28-year-old nurse named Ieshia Evans, decided to take a stand by stepping in the street and getting arrested.

Bachman’s photo soon began spreading across the Internet, with many influential journalists hailing the photo as “iconic” and a shot that will symbolize the ongoing turmoil for future generations.

Others are likening the photo to the iconic “Tank Man” photo captured by AP photographer Jeff Widener during the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing on June 5, 1989.

Widener's iconic "Tank Man" photo from 1989.
Widener’s iconic “Tank Man” photo from 1989. Photo by Jeff Widener/AP

“I went into the street with my arms crossed and just stared at them,” Evans tells The Daily Mail. “I guess they didn’t like it because they detained me.”

Here’s Amnesty International journalist Stefan Simanowitz take on the photo’s iconic nature:

One of 102 people arrested by the officers during the protest on Saturday, Evans was released the next day.

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