Enlivened, Aware, Awake:
Symbols of Activism

In October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale cofounded the Black Panther Party as a means of protest and self-defense against anti-Black oppression and police violence. Drawing from Marxist and Black Nationalist ideologies, the organization created their Ten-Point Program, which advocated for decent housing and employment for all Black people, an end to police brutality, and other social reforms critical to Black liberation.

Newton and Seale raised their fists to embolden and unify Black Panther Party members during rallies. Though the origins of this gesture in the context of protest can be traced to workers’ rights and anti-fascist movements of the early and mid-twentieth century, its adoption by the Black Panthers cemented it as an embodiment of Black Power. Like members’ distinct black berets and leather jackets, the raised fist became an identifiable symbol of the Party.

The illustration of the raised fist, as seen in the background of this photograph, was an extension of the physical gesture. The Black Panthers used the graphic to represent self-defense, rebellion, and militancy—core tenets on which the party was founded; thus, it became linked to the Party and to Black Power more broadly.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a white police officer on May 25, 2020, Black Lives Matter protests erupted in cities across the United States, calling immediate attention to the structural anti-Black racism and violence in which police brutality is rooted. Demonstrations drew millions of people throughout the summer, and at their height in early June, were occurring at an average of 140 per day, making them one of the largest social movements in US history. Despite their enormous scale, frequency, and geographical scope, Black Lives Matter protests shared several common features, including protesters’ ritual fist-raising as a symbol of solidarity, justice, and Black Power, linking them to Black activist predecessors.

Isaac Scott began photographing Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the early weeks of the protests. Trained as a ceramicist, Scott was not an experienced photographer at the time, but picked up a camera after COVID-19 safety measures restricted him from his studio. Scott participated in the first protest in Philadelphia on May 30 and knew that he was experiencing an important historical moment of activism. He continued to photograph—and participate in—the protests, sometimes at great peril, throughout the summer.

Gilbert Baker arrived in San Francisco in the early 1970s and quickly became a key figure in the city’s growing Gay Liberation and activist movements. Employing the sewing skills he had learned from making drag costumes, he created protest banners and flags for gay rights and anti-war demonstrations. In 1978, Harvey Milk—one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States as San Francisco’s City-County Supervisor—and a committee of local activists called on Baker to invent a visual symbol to represent and celebrate the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Baker conceived of the Rainbow Flag as an embodiment of the power, hope, and diversity within the community, and with his friends Lynn Segerblom and James McNamara and thirty volunteers, dyed and hand-stitched two flags, each thirty by sixty feet, which were raised on June 25, 1978, for the inaugural San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Michael Patterson-Carver often illustrates scenes in which people of historically marginalized identities gather to demand civil rights and justice. His work implicitly addresses the generations of systemic homophobia, transphobia, and oppression against which his figures protest. However, Patterson-Carver’s playful style and his protesters’ ubiquitous smiles and their brightly colored garments all bring a feeling of optimism to an otherwise serious cause.

Rainbow pennants, bike streamers, and pom poms scattered throughout the crowd create vibrancy and exuberance. The Pride Flags in Patterson-Carver’s work seem to fulfill the purpose that Gilbert Baker, the designer of the original 1978 Flag, had envisioned; Baker hoped to create a symbol that would claim visibility and joy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Josh Faught’s sculptural textile explores themes of domesticity, nostalgia, and the cultural constructions of gender and sexuality. Having come of age during the AIDS crisis, he became hyper-cognizant of the intense stigma and morbidity surrounding queerness at an early age. Faught payed close attention to portrayals of gay male sexuality in pop culture, developing an interest in the aesthetics and materiality of queerness. In Housecleaning, crocheted hemp fabric is adorned with a patchwork of found and hand-made items, including political buttons, two of which bear the Pride Rainbow. In an interview with the Tang, Faught noted that his decision to incorporate the buttons grew from a desire to “queer [the] object.” The rainbow pin represents a bold allegiance to one’s identity while maintaining a certain informality and kitschiness. These associations speak to the symbol’s power to create a statement as well as its accessibility and legibility.