He came, he saw, he showed out.
Because Picture Day is a rite of passage in most black households, 5-year-old Andrew Miles risked life and limb by taking the road less traveled—opting to let freedom ring instead of delivering the same boring portrait as his Woodland Elementary School compatriots.
“I’m so mad right now!” his mother Andriel posted on Facebook, clearly in awe at his brilliant portrayal of unrepentant #BlackBoyJoy. “I checked my sons [sic] book bag and find these!!!!”
Considering she used four exclamation marks, you know she wasn’t playing.
“I have contacted Lifetouch School Photography to figure out what happened and why!” she added. “I know they train their photographers better than that. They dropped the ball idc what anybody says...”
But while the rest of the world took delight in the viral photo of Andrew living his best life, Andriel had questions. As she told WMAZ, “I asked him if anyone asked him to make that face. He said, ‘No, I just made it.’”
And while his mother expressed her desire to order retakes, the kindergartner has every intention of doing the same thing next year—thanks to Lifetouch School Photography’s policy of encouraging free-spirited photos.
“Everyone is just embracing the photo and loving the photo,” she said. “That one photo showed all of his personality. How sweet he is, how loving he is.”
Indeed. Just wait until he learns how to take selfies.