This photo, which I posted to Tumblr a month ago, blew up recently. It’s currently at 4.220 notes (and climbing), and I wanted to say a few things about it.

1) I pulled it from a Facebook friend’s wall thinking, “This would go over well on Tumblr” (plus, I thought it was awesome). I didn’t give the friend credit for posting it - in fact, I think he shared it from somebody else’s wall. Should I have credited that person for sharing it originally? Would anyone give a shit either way?

2) I tried to find out where the photo was from so I could attribute it. I used Tin Eye and got no results. I Googled it (using combinations of search terms like “black man” “white only” and “fountain”) but found nothing. 

3) I considered that it was Photoshopped. The sign on the water fountain could have easily been added, but the context of the photo - the man’s defiant pose and gaze, and also the fact that it seems unconventional to take a photo of someone drinking out of a water fountain - makes me think it’s probably authentic.

That’s it. Tumblr thoughts.