Meet Devin Allen, a talented, young photographer from Baltimore, Maryland who captured the iconic image plastered on the latest cover of Time magazine.
Allen's breathtaking work includes powerful pictures from protests in Baltimore over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. His pictures have captured the raw emotions of city residents who have taken to the streets in recent days to express their frustrations over the killing of yet another black man at the hands of police.
“I’m just telling the truth,” Allen told HuffPost Live Host Josh Zepps during an interview on Friday. He admitted he didn't expect the traction the picture went on to receive, “I was just documenting for my city."
Allen said he has been taking pictures from the streets of Baltimore almost every day since the protests began and has since captured more than 3,000 photos.
However, one particular image truly resonated with editors at Time magazine who ultimately featured Allen’s work on the cover of their latest issue. The picture shares striking resemblances to the 1968 race riots in Baltimore following Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination -- and its powerful portrayal harkens back to a time when the unrest that unfolded in the city addressed similar concerns as those raised today.
“It was so evocative, not just on what’s happening now but it reminded us of what was happening 50 years ago,” said Ben Goldberg, the Nation Editor at Time. “That was the story we were really trying to tell and we thought it framed it perfectly.”
The cover of Time highlights just one of the many compelling images Allen has captured during the peak and aftermath of the protests that have occurred since Gray passed. Gray died on April 19 from a spinal cord injury he sustained during an arrest.
Through his images, Allen said he aims to convey one important mission: “I want people to see the truth -- and nothing but that.”
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