Woman Behind Black Lives Matter Photo Calls Herself a 'Vessel,' Describes Image as 'Work of God'
The 28-year-old New York woman behind a now viral photo associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in Baton Rouge has said the popularity and discussion generated by the image is the "work of God," and described herself as a "vessel."
Several news sites, including the BBC, reported on the photograph, which shows Leshia Evans wearing a long, flowing summer dress as she stands in front of a police line.
Reuters photographer Jonathan Bachman said the photo was taken on a street near police headquarters that was being blocked by protesters in the city, which was the site of Black Lives Matter protests over the weekend.
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"The police were called out to clear Airline Highway where demonstrators had blocked the road. ... They managed to get most of the protesters off to the side," Bachman explained.
"I was on the side of the road photographing protesters arguing with police," he added.
"I looked over my right shoulder and saw the woman step onto the road. She was making her stand. She said nothing and was not moving. It was clear that the police were going to have to detain her."
The image generated a great deal of discussion online, with some calling it a "legendary picture" that will "be in history and art books from this time," before Evans later posted on social media that she was "alive and safe."
"I appreciate the well wishes and love, but this is the work of God. I am a vessel! Glory to the most high!" she added.
She later told a friend that all she did on the day was "went into the street with my arms crossed and just stared" at police.
Evans added: "I guess they didn't like it because they detained me."
U.S. Uncut reported that Evans works as a licensed practical nurse, and though she lives in New York City, she traveled to Baton Rouge to join the protest, which was sparked following the graphic shooting death of Alton Sterling at the hands of police officers who were dispatched to a convenience store where he was selling DVDs after 911 received a call that he was threatning people wih a gun.
Baton Rouge police said the Black Lives Matter protests turned violent when an officer got his teeth knocked out as a result of objects thrown from demonstrators.
Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, who ran for mayor of Baltimore earlier this year, was also briefly arrested by police, but argued that the protesters had been peaceful.
"The only people who were violent last night were the Baton Rouge Police Department," McKesson asserted. "The protesters remained peaceful, both here and across the country."
A great variety of American political and religious commentators have offered their thoughts and views on the movement and racial tensions in the country, with Michael Brown, host of the nationally syndicated "Line of Fire" radio program, insisting that "all lives matter."
"As Americans, we must come together and declare that All Lives Matter, regardless of color, ethnicity, or social status. Every life is precious in God's sight and must therefore be precious in our sight as well," Brown wrote in an op-ed published in The Christian Post.
"Those of us who are leaders in the Church must set the example, having the difficult conversations, challenging one another's perspectives, calling on the mercy of the Lord, and being God's prophetic voices in a fallen society as well as His agents of redemption and reconciliation," he added.
