This photo here depicts a powerful connection between two very different people in terms of their skin color. Taken in 1992 during a Ku Klux Klan annual gathering in a North Georgia city, the image here expresses how two very different races can unify together and eradicate opposition between the two parties.
Standing in front of the black trooper and touching his shield is a young boy dressed in a Klan hood and robe. The boy, engulfed with curiosity, playfully touches the shield while the trooper looks over the boy. Both appearances juxtaposes greatly between the two individuals, but are somewhat sharing a brief connection with each other.
The image was captured on Sept 5, 1992. The white supremacist group, in hopes to revive their group and shed some life into its revival campaign in the 80s and 90s, took themselves to the streets to gain new members for their group.
A fellow local photographer, assigned for the Gainesville Times, was Todd Robertson, a graduate from the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism. An individual with the idea of a full-time photojournalism job being elusive, he was a person who had minor gigs in becoming a successful photographer.
At the revival campaign, little action was given for Robertson to photograph. Other than the 66 KKK members on the streets, the other 100 were those observing and demonstrating, to protest against the Klan. Multiple photographers waited near the sides of the road, in hopes to attain some footage when a conflict between the two oppositions emerge. Robertson had a different agenda, however. Intrigued by a mother and her two young boys that are members of the Klan, Robertson puts his attention to the three individuals with their pointy white hats.
One of the boys walks toward a state trooper, the trooper holding his state shield on the ground. The boy, seeing his reflection, playfully reaches the shield and Robertson snaps the camera. Almost immediately, the mother grabs the boy named “Josh”, and runs back with her two sons.
It is rather amazing to know back in history how two opposition forces had a brief understanding with each other. Take a look at the boy reaching out to his reflection. The boy here expresses the idea of innocence, and with his curiosity flying, the boy explores the shield the trooper holds because he is fascinated by it. The shield here, in a rally, symbolizes authority and order; however, in this photograph it symbolizes the idea of unity. The boy sees a reflection of himself on the trooper’s shield, and it may portray how the trooper is reflecting the boy. It hints they are the same, they have the same flesh and blood—regardless of what skin color they have—they are both human. In contrast to this, the shield also symbolizes a barrier between the two races.
It is also interesting to see how the boy, with his curiosity, walked towards an opposing group to have some exploration. His family was participating in a campaign where they were taught to hate other races. At this point, the boy did not seem to care, and goes on to venture in his own world. It must have been fearful for the mother when she reacted to the boy being very close to the colored trooper, and to this day there are many people still fighting against racism and stereotyping that continues to be perpetuated.
Overall, the image here signifies how important it is to lower our egos and spread kindness to one another, for the betterment of our fellow brothers and sister, as we all are of the same flesh and blood. We are all innocent and happy when we are young; instead of teaching cruelty, we should teach principles of love and kindness.
David Griner, Published Jan 9 2013. Updated Jan 26 2013. "How KKK rally image found new life 20 years after it was published". Retrieved:
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/199985/how-kkk-rally-image-found-new-life-20-years-after-it-was-published/