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How the Photo of a Black Woman Became an Iconic Face of Outrage
While the United States still has a Black History Month, let’s take a look at an image that transcends time and speaks volumes.
Every picture tells a story, don’t it? So says the old song by Rod Stewart. But as Thomas Wolfe tells us in Look Homeward Angel, every moment is also a window on all time. If these things are true — and I think they are — then what is the woman in this iconic Danny Lyon photograph (not the one above) reacting to?
Perhaps she is shocked by the transformation of makeup-free Pamela Anderson, who’s been making the talk-show rounds in the wake of her Oscar nomination for The Last Showgirl. Although Anderson does look stunning without all the makeup she used to wear during her Playboy bunny and Mötley Crüe-marriage days, it’s highly unlikely that the woman in that iconic photograph cares very much about that.
There’s also a chance that she just opened the New York Times and discovered that Elon Musk has been granted the keys to the federal payment system. Which gives him effective control over IRS tax refunds, Medicare and Social Security payouts, and the ability to freeze any federal payments his DOGE team finds unnecessary or too expensive.
