The Power Of Protest Images In The Black Freedom Struggle

Monday, Feb 22, 7pm – Join Dr. Brenna Greer for a virtual tour of the significant images, protest signs, and social media posts that have come out of the civil rights movement and Black Lives Matter movement. Since World War II, African Americans’ fight for civil rights, social equality, and equal justice has increasingly unfolded through visual media. The question of Black freedom has been – and continues to be – put before the public through photos and video images. Americans in the 1960s saw footage of civil rights marches, sit-ins, and boycotts in newspapers or on the nightly news. In the 21st century, social media and smartphones mean that news organizations no longer control which images of Black protest or suffering circulate widely. Last spring, the nation erupted after a video went viral showing Minneapolis police killing George Floyd. Many have pointed to the resulting images of protest as evidence of something — the question is what. Explore the power of Black protest images – past and present – as representations of Black life in the United States and as tools in African Americans’ ongoing quest for freedom.

Register here to receive the Zoom link via email.

This event is made possible in collaboration with the Merrimack Valley Libraries Working Towards Social Justice. 

Dr. Brenna Greer is an Associate Professor of History focusing on race, gender, and culture in the 20th century at Wellesley College. Her first book, Represented: The Black Imagemakers Who Reimagined African American Citizenship, examines the historical circumstances that made the media representation of black citizenship good business in the post-World War II era. She is currently at work on her second book, which examines the postwar development of black commercial publishing and its significance within U.S. culture and black life.