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'Defining image of America?': July 4 photo of Black woman surrounded by Patriot Front members on DC Metro goes viral
A Reuters photograph taken aboard a Washington, D.C., Metro train during the July 4 America250 celebrations has gone viral.
A Reuters photograph captured during America's 250th Independence Day celebrations has become one of the most discussed images on social media.
The image, photographed by Reuters' Cheney Orr on July 4, quickly spread across X after journalists and commentators shared it and debated what the image represents.
This prompted thousands of reactions. Many users described it as a powerful visual representation of racial tensions and political divisions in the US during the country's semiquincentennial celebrations.
Reuters image goes viral across social media
The photo shows a Black woman sitting quietly inside a Washington Metro train while dozens of masked members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front surround her on their way to a march in downtown Washington, DC
The white supremacist, neo-Nazi group is based out of North Texas.
The group marched despite the cancellation of many Fourth of July parades in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region, including the procession scheduled to commemorate America's 250th birthday in Washington, DC, according to WUSA.
According to WFAA, footage of the masked men's march showed them congregating close to Eastern Market metro station before boarding a train from New Carrollton station.
Before departing Washington, DC, by train, the group marched through Capitol Hill neighborhoods as well, according to social media posts.
Journalist Aaron Parnas shared the photograph with the caption, “This image is from today. A Black woman sits on the DC Metro as masked white nationalists prepare to march on our nation's capital. This is America's 250th anniversary.”
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“Defining image of the era of American history”
A widely shared post by Dean Withers read, “Your great-grandchildren will see this photo in their history books. This is a defining image of the era of American history we live in.”
Some users compared the image to Rosa Parks' civil rights moment. A user wrote, “Anyone else get flashbacks to the image of Rosa Parks on that bus?”
Others highlighted the irony in the Patriot Front's wearing masks. One comment read, “Refused to wear a face mask to protect others during a pandemic, but will wear masks over their faces and heads when it's 100F to protect themselves.”
Some users called out the group's nationalist movement and wrote, “If they’re so patriotic, why do they gotta cover their faces?”
