Sarahbeth Maney is a photojournalist who has made the news for capturing what has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as arguably “the most iconic image”, from the hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson on her confirmation to the US Supreme Court.
Maney is a New York Times photojournalist for the Washington, D.C Bureau. She covers politics and shoots photos to that effect.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from San Francisco State University in 2019.
During her course of studying, she interned at The San Francisco Chronicle, Michigan’s Flint Journal, and the SF Examiner.
In 2021, Sarahbeth was featured in the KQED Arts and Culture which was based on Black Women’s Photographers network.
According to her professional bio, her photography work focuses on “education, disability, and issues that disproportionately impact Black and brown communities”.
Her works have been published in a number of popular papers like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Guardian, TIME and Vanity Affair.
She recently partnered with The Pulitzer Center on her work “Reclaiming Her Space”, a photo of a statue in Franklin, Tennessee- The Fuller Story Of Franklin.
She has also done a coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Now what exactly is special about this photo?
The photo captured by Maney on the 23rd of March, 2022, is one with Jackson herself smiling in the background, but then blurred out in the same picture is her daughter, Leila, looking straight at her mum with the widest look of admiration ever.
Being the first often means you have to be the best — and the bravest. 📸 @sbmaneyphoto for @nytimes pic.twitter.com/DSZiawlnDd
— Sarahbeth Maney (@sbmaneyphoto) March 24, 2022
Leila’s father and Brown Jackson’s husband Patrick, sits by her side, “looking on lovingly during the intense, politically charged proceedings”.
According to The Chronicles, Maney says, “When I saw Leila’s face, she gave this expression that really translated just how much she admired her mother.”
She continued, “It was nice to see the daughter’s face in the background, but have her in focus. It’s very specific to her experience and what she was feeling as a young, Black woman.”
This tweet has received over 118k likes, and has captured the attention of so many people on social media, including Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, who reposted the photo with a caption that said, “What a powerful, needed photo”
When asked how she felt about Bernice King’s tweet, Maney said to The Chronicles, “It felt very surreal to receive that recognition. I worked so hard to get to where I am. Just to be recognised and have people feel what I felt when I took that picture really meant a lot to me.”
Many other Twitter users commented on the photo and praised Maney for her work.
Twitter user @katierosman said, “Being looked at like this by your child is every parent’s greatest wish.”
And we can’t agree more!
Read Also: Erin Brown Is a Beacon of Hope to People Living With Disabilities and Cancer
Rachael Obadiaru is a writer who specializes in content writing, copywriting, blogging, and fictional storytelling. She is a feminist and an advocate for the inclusion of marginalized groups. She spends her free time creating a nuisance on Twitter while snacking on pringles and snuggling with her cats.
