A Bay Area television station was one of the first to circulate a controversial photograph of Nia Wilson, the young girl who was horrifically attacked and killed outside a BART train station in Oakland.
Her murder has been highly publicized and circulated, especially on social media. The Oakland community and people far beyond are rallying for justice, and mourning her death. This controversial photo shows Wilson holding what looks like a gun, and has circulated along with other photos of Wilson that show a very different, more positive narrative.
However, the object in the photo is not a gun, but a phone case shaped like a gun. The quick assumption by this news station along with the population who spread the photo online, is shameful and disrespectful. Even if it had been a gun, using that photo is an “attempt to dismiss her humanity and silence those who view her death as a racially motivated attack”, journalists and organizations wrote in a joint statement.
These activist and journalist groups also pointed out that the photo reinforces “unconscious bias, particularly against people of color, who are over-represented in stories about crime and violence.” It is especially inappropriate considering the horrific way in which an innocent girl was murdered without provocation.
Source: https://www.afro.com/black-journalists-upset-after-tv-stations-use-of-insensitive-photo/
