As Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets to protest police brutality, the movement sparked a broader racial reckoning that led many to push for the removal of monuments to Confederate soldiers who fought to preserve slavery. In Richmond, Virginia, photographer Kris Graves captured the scene as activists transformed a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee into a memorial to Floyd. “It so completely summarizes the political tumult of this year and how deeply rooted these beliefs are on both sides,” Johnson says.

Through our standard image toning processes, Nat Geo de-emphasized 10 instances of the f-word that were visible in the photograph. “It’s an extremely rare step for us to take,” writes Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg in the January issue. “We believe that prominently sharing the photo is more important than de-emphasizing a certain swear word; the toning does not diminish its message or impact.”