This photograph was inspired by the SNCC’s sit-ins practice. The sit-ins were some of the tactics used by the SNCC in order to provoke a change. Just like the other activist groups the SNCC’s protest strategy was being non-violent towards the white supremacists in hopes that they would sympathies with the Civil Rights activists. The sit-ins consisted of groups of young activists who would go into public areas of Southern states where people of color weren’t allowed to be seen due to the white folks being there. Once the SNCC members would sit in those areas they would get harassed, and beaten by the white supremacists, in order to stay calm the SNCC members had to practice being mistreated. This picture shows a black person (me) practicing being beat by white people without reacting to the harassment.

In order to make this photograph I asked two of my friends to pose as if they were hitting me. I used our history classroom to simulate the sit-ins practice rooms, but the angle at which the picture was taken doesn’t show that I was sitting on a chair and it also doesn’t show my friends’ faces. I chose to use a black and white filter to make the situation look as authentic as possible, because with colors my facial expression would have looked a little less serious as I am not a good actress. One of my attentions while taking the picture was to look as if I was giving my cheek to Natalia, so that it would look like I am willing to get slapped and stay calm. I think the fact that the photograph takes place in a classroom makes it look more real, because the sit-ins had a major impact on colleges due to the white supremacists who wouldn’t let black student attend classes in the South.