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InVisible Culture‘s Statement on Racial Injustice

In light of the widespread and ongoing protests sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others, InVisible Culture would like to announce its support of Black Lives Matter and all organizations and movements that combat anti-Black racism. We are and will remain committed to the various forms this action takes. Not only do we advocate justice for those who have lost their lives and livelihoods at the hands of white supremacy, but we also seek a complete dismantling of the hegemonic structures that facilitate this. As a journal dedicated to the study of visual culture and its archives we recognize the legacy of racist police violence in centuries of slavery, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy. As an academic journal, we also recognize our own responsibility to critically address and actively work against the white supremacy culture of academia.

The Black Lives Matter movement has pursued this goal to an unmatched degree and reminded the world of the ways anti-Black racism is a pervasive force undermining everyday life. As a tactic to combat this, BLM has prioritized the preservation and celebration of Black life to a revolutionary degree. It has powerfully demonstrated that collective action can enact change; the repealing of 50-A in New York and the proposed disbanding of the police in Minneapolis are two examples of what we hope will be many.

InVisible Culture has elected to pledge some of our funds to organizations that benefit and support Black lives. We are beginning this endeavor at the local level, by donating $500 to co-sponsor the inaugural Anna Murray Douglass Award, granted by WOC Art Collaborative to recognize and support the work of womxn of color creatives in Rochester. Click here to learn more about the work of WOC Art, and here to support their work.

In the meantime, we would like to share some pieces previously published in InVisible Culture that examine facets of anti-Black racism in the United States. We recognize that written contributions to this discourse are just one of the ways in which to deconstruct systemic racism. This ongoing pursuit is vital and we will continue serving as a platform for its doing.

Jerome Dent, “Lynching 2.0,” Dialogues, April 18, 2016.

Tiffany Barber, “Bodies Under Re/view? Mediating Racial Blackness,” Dialogues, August 30, 2013.

Safiya Umoja Noble, “Google Search: Hyper-visibility as a Means of Rendering Black Women and Girls Invisible,” Issue 19 (2013).

Brian Greening, “Spectacular Disaster: The Louisiana Superdome and Subsumed Blackness in Post-Katrina New Orleans,” Issue 16 (2011).

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