NYT Novel Treatment of an Old Yet Very Topical Issue

[Boy]

reflecting I think I might expand to explain what I mean:

One pair...[of hands]... belongs to the young white boy, who grasps the mullion with the entitled assurance of someone who knows his birthright

not what I see

what I see is a young lad who is insecure but not wanting to show it, not sure of how to react to what is going on, and is holding on for support, maybe even subconciously, comfort

who knows, were were not there, we are not mind readers.. chattering class woffle [thats yorkie for hot air] - it's the curse of the modern age opinion is worth more that analysis.. think I'll go write a blog about it...not

Handrawn, what about both -- yours and the author's -- interpretations being right? The boy might be insecure as a child often is while growing up and, at the same time, he can be confident that he will not be treated as the African Americans were at that time. Perhaps this double standard even confuses him and he, as such, embodies this.

The NYT presentation is an artist's attempt at laying bare some of the harsh and ugly dynamics and roots of racism. It talks to us all, whatever our individual or shared identity.

To me this artwork is about the pain of denying the truth that we’re all human and, hence, equal. There’s the pain that's felt by those who are on the receiving end of injustice and there’s the pain that’s unfelt by those who self-righteously impose it.