The spring of 2015 was a very trying time for the city of Baltimore, and its African-American residents. There was an injustice going on and the tensions just broke. Baltimore was just one of the cities in which racial injustices lead to rioting. There have been a number of these riots over the last year or two. Most recently, there was a riot in Charlotte. The violence we have seen has mostly been attributed to police brutality and intensified racism over the last decade. The riots in Baltimore started because of the death of Freddie Gray pushing the tensions to the limit. In this situation, we have a man who is walking away from a burning police van. This photograph is a clear call to action in order to create change and better America. The photograph is showing an unjust African-American male from the riots, in order to help change some groups of peoples view on the world and to increase the amount of respect for minorities in today’s America

The first aspect of the photograph is the African-American male walking away from the burning van. By the man, just walking away from the burning van is sending a very strong message to the viewers. The action’s message is his hatred for the police. His body language is that of a person tired and in distress. The man appears to be suffering from something greater them fatigue and physical stress. This photograph is only the beginning of the uphill battle of creating peace among our nation. He appears angry and dumbfounded; he does not know how his city will repair itself down the line. His face makes him look like he has been through a lot and is very tires. He just wants to know when the rioting, the racism, and the injustice will stop. This aspect of the photograph really appeals to our emotions. I know from being a native of Baltimore, our city was all in a state of shock. We all were wondering, “Why is this happening in our city?” All that the entire city wanted was for the injustice to stop and for everyone to return to reality. 

The second aspect of the photograph is the burning police van behind the guy walking away. The van is burning up in flames after it was set ablaze during the rioting. This was often a common sight during the riots, as the violence was often directed to the police. This part of the picture is such a vivid and outstanding feature. This was the first thing I saw, because burning cars in the streets are not something you see in everyday life. The van also appeals to the audience’s emotion, because, it is symbolic of defeating the movement of police brutality and creating equality of the races. Also with the van still lit, the Black lives matter movement is still on going, and the equality has not yet been reached.

Now that I have described what is happening in the photograph, it is time to discuss the underlying issues that all the parts of the photograph together are trying to say. Again, the main issue that stemmed from the Baltimore riots was the racial injustice towards African-Americans in today’s society after the unjust death of Freddie Gray. I would say the purpose of this photograph is to incite change in today’s society in order to get everyone on the same “racial” playing field. Being from Baltimore, we were not very happy that these acts of violence were happening in our city and people want these events to stop. The city was in a state of shock, as our citizens were destroying their own homes. We just wanted peace to return to our city. However, in order to get the city back into a state of equilibrium, we need to turn to our leaders. Everything starts with the leaders of the city. These so-called” leaders”, however, have let us all down. The tensions in the city escalated, and then the riots eventually broke out. Police violence plus angry minorities equals the perfect storm for the riots. It has come to the point in our country where it is America versus America. The problems our country has been facing lately have often times been with ourselves and the results have not been great. Our country needs to dig deep and find itself in order to help solve our countries underlying issues, such as racism and extreme violence.

In conclusion, this photograph is helping to create change in America in order to increase respect for minorities, especially for African-Americans. By making the rest of us aware what is going on in the cities with increased violence, we will get tired of it all. Americans will soon realize that what appears to be a common occurrence here in the states needs to stop. When that realization happens, American will decrease the amount of racism towards each other and the violence will start to die down. In order for problem to get fixed, no matter the size, they have to be brought to the attention of those that it is affecting. So hopefully when people see this photo, they will be able to understand the context in which this event has taken place. They will therefore be able to realize what wrongs have recently occurred in our country and strive to fix them and to create change and truly “Make America Great Again.”
