Louis Michael, carrying a piece of cardboard under his arm, topped his Black Lives Matter T-shirt with a graduation gown, popped on his graduation cap and headed to downtown Oakland. Written on that piece of cardboard was; “Young Black College Grad. Which Part is Threatening?” Later that night, during a heated exchange between protesters and police, Michael stepped in front of the crowd and unknowingly became the subject for an iconic image. Head bowed, first raised, he became unwittingly immortalized by the flash of SF State alumna Sarahbeth Maney’s camera.

Maney’s image has been shared across the world and now graces a wall of downtown Oakland named “Turning Anger into Action.” Maney, a Black photojournalist and first-generation college graduate, named the mural after a discussion with the artists and volunteers.

“I was always told– since junior high– that I probably wasn’t going to go to college, that I couldn’t afford college. It was never an idea in my mind that I’d actually get a degree. So I feel the title reflects both education and the movement,” Maney said.

It is one of many murals painted for the collaborative Oakland Mural Project, organized by Aireon Tavares. John Christie, an art teacher in Oakland, headed the artistic direction and involved many of his students in the process. 

This Saturday at noon, the mural will become a meeting place for 2020 graduates, as @blm_art_oakland is hosting a celebration of their accomplishments. The event will feature leis, graduation garb and discussions about the making of the mural. 

“Getting an education or degree as a Black person or person of color is challenging,” Maney said. Pursuing a degree in journalism with a concentration in photojournalism from SF State in 2019 was a way of turning anger into action for Maney.

The photo and its message were spread far and wide across the internet, which provided an insight to exploitative practices Black creators often face at the hands of media companies. Entertainment Tonight and Buzzfeed are among the outlets that used the image without compensation for Maney.

Though media outlets have, in recent weeks, made efforts to promote creators of color, Maney feels “like they’re just checking off a box and act like they’re amplifying these diverse voices,” without actually compensating their artists and workers.

Instagram, however, properly licensed the image for a film called Take Action, which was published on Juneteenth. Maney felt that Instagram did everything right. It paid both her and Michael for their roles in creating the image. According to Maney, compensating the subject of photos is rare practice for media companies. The Bay Area-based, freelance photojournalist has been published by a multitude of outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Guardian U.S., The Boston Globe, Forbes, Refinery29, and The San Francisco Chronicle. 

“If I’ve learned anything over the course of these few weeks, it’s the importance of knowing how to protect your work. I think it’s important for Black creators to know their worth. A lot of people don’t have knowledge on how to properly price things and how to make license agreements. I think that’s a really big issue.” 

For example, Buzzfeed reached out to Maney, asking for permission to use her images. When she responded that they could properly license (pay for) use of her photos, Buzzfeed did not respond and instead posted the image without her permission. The editor received backlash from the photo community for this decision, and the image has since been taken down. According to Maney, “exposure” is not adequate payment for work.

The mural’s collaborative process came as a relief to Maney during the battles for her image rights and compensation. She felt the organizers of Oakland Mural Project were dedicated to ensuring Maney’s vision, while also incorporating Michael’s voice.

Maney is now working on a multimedia project focusing on the recent grad for the San Francisco Chronicle, which will detail Michael’s journey from his very first protest– where he unknowingly became an internet sensation– to his newfound role as a community activist. 

This Saturday, Michael will be speaking about the meaning of the image and the entire process of bringing it to life on Oakland’s streets. This year’s graduates are encouraged to come down to celebrate in front of Turning Anger Into Action at 1333 Broadway, right across from Oscar Grant Plaza.