On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, fatally shot an African American man, Mike Brown. Throughout the article Ferguson Uncensored, Scott Olson’s images depict the effects of the shooting on the people of the community. There were cops everywhere, civilians looting stores, and people causing violence throughout the streets. In a sense, there was a war going on in Ferguson Missouri, with nothing to stop it. The images Olsen captures, exemplify the fact that the police brutality problem among minorities, is alive and growing. Within every picture, there are motifs and symbols that can be used to grasp a connection between the actual image, and what was occurring that week in Ferguson.  

In an image that stands out among others, the mother of Mike Brown is raising both hands in the air, while being abetted by the pastor, who also has a hand in the air, and the other around her waist. The first thing that can be concluded is that they are in a church, due to the large wooden cross in the background. Even though the resolution of the cross is blurry, the angle of the shot and the way it is shown next to the mother of the victim, represents the support and prayers she will need to get through this difficult time. Looking closer at cross, one will see that there are silver lines surrounding it that make it stand out, almost as if it is not in the background, but rather the main part of this picture. The silver lining surrounding the cross creates a message that uses the exact same terminology, the “silver lining”. Finding the silver lining is taking the best from a poor situation. The fact that the mother agreed to speak about her son’s death, in front of hundreds of people, shows that she is a woman who stands up for what she believes in. Lesley McSpadden sharing her viewpoints and trying to prevent other mothers from having to deal with what she was going through, is indeed taking the silver lining out of this horrible situation. 

Looking at the same image, there are other aspects and motifs that make this image slightly more powerful than the others. The mother and Pastor are raising their hands to symbolize peace, unity, and the hope for an end to racial oppression. In her hands, are two tissues, showing that she was crying throughout her speech to the congregation. The angle of the photo is what brings meaning and influence to the image. Due to the angle, neither the mother nor Pastor is looking into the camera. Rather they are looking out into the hundreds of people who came to support her, as well as the justice her son deserves. The way in which she looks beyond the camera demonstrates that her speech wasn’t delivered to just Ferguson, but rather the entire country. She knew that because she was the mother of Mike Brown, people would listen to what she had to say, and how she said it. As she stood on the alter, hands high in the air, looking into the crowd, Leslie McSpadden spoke as a representation of the needed change in our society. 

In the image titled, “Turned Away”, a mother is holding her child, as a crowd of about 20 police officers stands behind them. The look on the mother’s face says it all. She is disgusted, scared, and ashamed of the place she calls home. What makes this image so unique is that in this instance, the protestor and her child are both white. This gives the idea that what was going on in Ferguson was greater than just the African American community. On both the mother and her child, there are sayings written on their arms that are derogatory towards the police. On the arm of the child it states, “No Justice”, and due to the age of the child, it is clear someone else wrote this on her body. Then, on the chest of the mother it states, “FTP”, short for, “F**k The police.”

The fact that the protestors are white, yet fighting for the justice of the African American community, shows that this is not about skin color, but rather equality for all. Both the woman and her child are looking past the camera, into whatever lies ahead of them. In this case, it represents the problems she is looking at lies much deeper than the ones in Ferguson. Just because the incident happened in this community, does not mean that racial oppression and social injustice are not precedent throughout our country, and even the world. 

The woman in the photo has vibrant blue eyes and because of this, her eyes are the focal point of this picture. Within her eyes, one can sense the worry, distraught, and wretched times this woman and her community are going through. On the contrary, all of the police officer’s eyes are not visible to the audience. They are either blurred out, not looking at the camera, or the officer happens to be wearing sunglasses. This is not a coincidence, and it exhibits the attitude of the police during the riots in Ferguson. Our eyes enable us to see and connect with the people around us, and the fact that the officer’s eyes are not shown, is a symbol that they’re turning the blind eye to the fact that there is a problem in our country with police brutality and racial oppression among minorities, specifically African Americans. The visual motifs and elements drawn from this picture are not merely about skin color, but rather our country living up to the expectations of a quote from our pledge of allegiance, “liberty and justice for all.” 

Scott Olson captured these pictures with hopes of exposing the public to what was occurring during this horrid time in Ferguson. The pictures share similar motifs and visual elements that can be used to draw the conclusion that police brutality among minorities is an active epidemic in our country.  The most powerful element throughout this article was Olson’s use of the silver lining around the cross. Not only was he able to capture what made the cross shine, but he was able to create a motif that was directly related to what was happening in the picture. Mike Brown’s mother taking the silver lining out of her son’s death is not easy, and is something that deserves a hell of a lot of credit. In both images, there is the common element that neither woman is looking at the camera. This represents the women looking out into a larger picture, rather than what was occurring in Ferguson at the time. Both women are clearly hurt by the events and are doing everything in their power to speak out for justice in their community. Within the images, all the motifs collaborate for a common theme that everyone is affected by racial oppression, and our country will not know peace until it is non-existent.
