More than fifty years after it was first published, the photograph continues to captivate and move audiences around the world.
A Routine Day Turns Extraordinary
On that day, Rocco Morabito, a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal, was on what seemed like a routine assignment.
According to interviews he gave later in life, Morabito was en route to cover a minor story near West 26th Street in Jacksonville, Florida.
The assignment was simple, predictable, and unremarkable. Like many photojournalists on mundane days, he reportedly felt a sense of monotony and boredom as he drove through the quiet neighborhood.
That sense of routine vanished instantly when Morabito noticed a gathering near a utility pole.
Several workers were visibly alarmed, and a small crowd had begun to assemble on the street, craning their necks and whispering anxiously. Continue reading…
