Explore Black History

June 3, 2020

Photographer Tommy Oliver is an award-winning producer and cinematographer in television and film. Best known for his 2020 documentary 40 Years a Prisoner on HBO, his docuseries Black Love (2017–2020) on OWN, and his feature film The Perfect Guy (2015), Oliver challenges audiences to question their assumptions about race, gender, and family. The film Kinyarwanda (2011), which Oliver co-produced, weaves together narratives of resilience during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It won the Sundance Film Festival’s award for World Cinema Drama and was recognized as one of the top 10 films of 2011. This photograph is part of a broader portfolio of images taken during Black Lives Matter rallies in Los Angeles between May 31 and June 14, 2020.

A digital, black-and-white image of Cedric the Entertainer speaking at a Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles protest against District Attorney Jackie Lacey in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The image was taken by Tommy Oliver during a protest against Jackie Lacey, District Attorney of Los Angeles County, that took place following the death of George Floyd. Cedric is depicted just right of center, addressing a crowd of protesters. He is shown from the chest up, partially turned towards the left edge of the photograph. He is wearing a black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and a black, short sleeve T-shirt with white text of varying sizes and fonts on the chest that reads [The / Hundreds[underlined] / LOS ANGELES / BRAINS. HEART. FIST.]. He is speaking into a microphone held in his proper right hand. His proper left arm is raised to head level and he is pointing downwards with his index finger. He also holds a black face mask in the palm of his proper left hand. Surrounding him is a crowd of protesters, many of whom are holding up cell phones and protest signs. Visible behind Cedric is a large protest sign with a prominently displayed portrait of Anthony A.J. Weber, set inside a large white semicircle. His slightly blurred face is framed above, below, and on either side, with blurred text. The text at the top is illegible. The text on either side of Weber's face reads [2018 / [---?]] on the left and [ANTHONY / A.J. / WEBER] on the right. At the bottom center of the poster is the text [I [heart symbol] Y[OU?]]. In the background, behind the crowd, is the Hall of Justice and a white, multi-storied building with rows of windows.

Photograph of Cedric the Entertainer at a Black Lives Matter protest in LA

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Photographs and Still Images

Black Lives Matter

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommy and Codie Oliver

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2021.31.23

digital images
digital media - born digital

© Tommy Oliver
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

digital

H x W: 4480 pixels × 6720 pixels
File size: 172.3 MB

Title • Untitled

nmaahc_2021.31.23

NMAAHC

UNTITLED

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

2020s

Lacey, Jackie • Weber, Anthony • Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles • The Hundreds • Cedric the Entertainer • Floyd, George Perry • Oliver, Tommy

Downtown LA • United States • Los Angeles County • North and Central America • Los Angeles • California

Justice • Photography • Resistance • Activism • Police brutality • Actors and actresses • Black Lives Matter • Entertainers • Urban life • U.S. History, 2001- • Race relations

Locale • Downtown LA • City • Los Angeles • County • Los Angeles County • State • California • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

digital media - born digital • Photographs

Images

Limited Use