bipoc design history

The history of graphic design has traditionally skewed toward designers from white hegemony. Where white men (and some women) tend to fill the pages, webpages, and galleries that celebrate design. As humanity evolves, we must realize the value of making space for more diverse voices in the design world. This episode elevates Black designers who have successfully fought against the forces of white supremacy and oppression to take back control of representation. Starting with Abolitionist broadsides, this episode examines how mostly white creators of broadsides, used to support the antislavery movement, were hindered by what we now call the “White Savior Complex” and that the tone of abolitionist imagery and vocabulary was marked by the perceived superiority of the white Northern audience. Next, we look to the famous “I AM A MAN” protest signs of the Civil Rights marches. These protest signs have endured and evolved into modern iterations as a piece of living history highlighting the fight for racial equality which continues to be an inspiration for art and design practices today.  The episode also takes a deep dive into the life and work of Archie Boston. Archie Boston is a graphic designer known for creating subversive, self-aware work in the advertising and design industry. The genius of his designs is that he often appropriates and retrofits racist imagery, similar to how Black vernacular has reclaimed certain racial slurs. Rounding out the discussion is a survey of current design collectives and groups of professional creatives such as the Design Justice Network. This episode discovers insightful parallels between Black representation in the Abolition era and today, clearly demonstrating that the best advocates for Black freedom and equality are Black people. Graphic design in the hands of Black activists becomes a powerful force for positive change and strengthening communities.

TIMELINE - ARCHIE BOSTON

1943 – b Clewiston, Florida 
1961 – started attending Chouinard Art Institute
1964 – interned at Carson/Roberts
1965 – worked at Hixson And Jorgensen Advertising
1966 – became art director at Botsford Ketchum
1967 – started Boston & Boston Design with his brother Bradford
1969 – left Boston & Boston and rejoined Botsford Ketchum
1973 – started Archie Boston Design 
1977 – received master’s degree from the University of Southern California
1977 – started lecturing at California State University Long Beach (CSULB)
2001 – published Fly in the Buttermilk: Memoirs of an African American in Advertising Design & Design Education
2009 – published Lil' Colored Rascals in the Sunshine City

TIMELINE - BLACK DESIGNERS FIGHTING AGAINST PREJUDICE AND SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION

1830s – Abolitionist Broadsides, weaponized advocating to free slaves
1900 – WEB Du Bois and Black Data, Infographic Activism
1963 – March on Washington protest signs.
1966 – Boston and Boston advertisements, “Ku Klux Klan”, “For Sale”
1968 – I AM A MAN, Memphis Sanitation Strike
1980s – Archie Boston Graphic Design, “I don’t want to marry your daughter”
2016/2017 – Martin Typeface designed by Tré Seals inspired by I AM A MAN, Memphis Sanitation Strike posters
2021 – Black lives matter protest posters

REFERENCES

Archie Boston Graphic Design files. (n.d.). Online Archive of California. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8183dtf/

Archie Boston papers, 1963-2018 and undated - Archives & Manuscripts at Duke University Libraries. (n.d.). David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/bostonarchie

Barrett, L. (2014, February 12). “Am I not a man and a brother?” : The political power of the image. The Black Atlantic. https://sites.duke.edu/blackatlantic/2014/02/10/am-i-not-a-man-and-a-brother-the-political-power-of-the-image/

Barry, N. (2022, January 4). Project 3, Phase 1: - Nouria Barry - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@nouriabarry/project-3-phase-1-e6fe0757b57b

Black Disabled Lives Matter Riso Poster with Stickers Pack Bundle — jenwhitejohnson.com. (n.d.). https://jenwhitejohnson.com/Black-Disabled-Lives-Matter-Riso-Poster-with-Stickers-Pack-Bundle

Boston, A. (2001). Fly in the buttermilk: Memoirs of an African American in Advertising, Design & Design Education.

Boston, A. (2009). Lil’ colored rascals in the Sunshine city.

Daniel, J. (2015, February 18). Four Corners – an interview with Archie Boston. Design Week. https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/september-2013/four-corners-an-interview-with-archie-boston/

Epplett, A. (2022). Abolitionist Broadsides and Anti-Slavery Imagery — Coalition of Master’s Scholars on Material Culture. Coalition of Master’s Scholars on Material Culture. https://cmsmc.org/publications/abolitionist-and-anti-slavery-imagery

Frederick Douglass Project: In the Classroom: the Abolitionist Movement Packet | RBSCP. (n.d.). https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/2890

Gaiter, C. (n.d.). Strikethrough: Typography Messages of Protest for Civil Rights. https://archive.bipocdesignhistory.com/. https://archive.bipocdesignhistory.com/ST-General

Hayes, J. (2021). Africobra: Messages to the people.

Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT). (2020, October 21). Archie Boston lecture [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe5EVDoySwc

Jan. 6, 1832: New England Anti-Slavery Society founded - Zinn Education Project. (2023, January 18). Zinn Education Project. https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/anti-slavery-society/

McDonald, A. (2019, September 12). New Exhibit: “No One Can Suppress Archie Boston” - The Devil’s Tale. Duke University Libraries. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2019/09/12/new-exhibit-no-one-can-suppress-archie-boston/

Munro, S. (2021, July 27) Zoom Interview Archie Boston and the Author.

Rapp, A. (September 1, 2008). "Archie Boston's Design Journey". AIGA. Retrieved 2022-01-28. 

Reckdahl, K., & Rabut, A. (2020, March 12). This New Orleans artist challenges the way people see things. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/arts/bmike-artist-new-orleans.html

Toppins, A. (2020, August 18). Beyond the Bauhaus: I AM A MAN. AIGA Design Educators Community. https://educators.aiga.org/beyond-the-bauhaus-i-am-a-man/

This episode considers the 2016 proposal to place the likeness of Harriet Tubman on the U.S. $20 bill. The first use of paper money dates back to 1000 CE and has been cited as the first instance of widespread access to printed images. Money is an invented concept, it has value because societies collectively agree that it does, but historically images, symbols, and seals have been used to help authenticate money within the culture that it serves. Images of gods, monarchs and historical figures imbue the money with the magic of the gods or the authority of the government to assert its value. The US has a long history of printed money, dating back even before gaining independence. The images that a culture uses to assert the value of the country reflects what that country values. why then does the US continue to feature former presidents, and slave owners, white men of privilege, versus women and minorities? Harriet Tubman was a true hero in this country, who worked under the auspices of the underground railroad, and not only gained her own freedom, but also helped to free over 300 enslaved persons in her lifetime. In 2016, the proposal was made to put her image on the $20 bill. Making a change to the design of the US $20 bill, replacing Andrew Jackson’s likeness with that of Harriet Tubman would not right the wrongs of the past, but it would be a step towards honoring the contributions of Black women in this country, as well as a step forward in c_orrecting the absence of positive representations._

TIMELINE

440 BC – The Greeks first use coin money, adopted the practice from the Lydians

1000 – The first paper money was issued in China

1690 – the first paper money was printed in the U.S. by the Massachusetts Bay colony, though U.S.A. is not yet a country

1775 – Second Continental Congress issues paper money to help fund the American Revolution

1821 – Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation

1844 – Harriet Tubman’s forced marriage to John Tubman

1831 – First recorded use of the phrase Underground Railroad

1913 – Harriet Tubman dies, buried in Auburn, New York with military honors

2016 – Proposal to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the U.S. $20 bill, placed on hold during Trump presidency 

2021– President Biden announces plans to revisit Harriet Tubman $20 bill

2022 – plans are made to strike quarters  with historical female figures from U.S. History

REFERENCES

99% Invisible. (2021, June 11). Episode 54 The Colour of Money. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-54-the-colour-of-money/

Andrews, E. (July 19 2017, updated: September 3, 2019). How many U.S. Presidents owned enslaved People? History.com 

https://www.history.com/news/how-many-u-s-presidents-owned-slaves

Ann, M. S. (2021). Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman, 1–N.PAG. 

Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 2). Harriet Tubman. The Biography.Com Website. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/activist/harriet-tubman

Blakemore, E. (April 30, 2018, updated: August 29, 2018). Why Andrew Jackson’s Legacy Is So Controversial. History.com

https://www.history.com/news/andrew-jackson-presidency-controversial-legacy

Bradford, S. (1886). Harriet, the Moses of Her People. New York, Geo. R. Lockwood & Son.

Due North Productions (Producer), & Robertson, L. (Director). (2016). Daughters of the New Republic: Harriet Tubman and Sarah Bradford. [Video/DVD] Due North Productions. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/daughters-of-the-new-republic-harriet-tubman-and-sarah-bradford

Fleming, C. (2018). How To be Less Stupid About Race. Beacon Press. Boston Massachusetts. 

Gleim, S. (April 1, 2021). What do the Symbols on the U.S. $1 bill Mean? Howstuworks.com. https://money.howstuffworks.com/symbols-dollar-bill.htm

Grundhauser, E. (April 22, 2016) The ornate Charm of American Currency from the 1700s. Atlasobscura.com

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-ornate-charm-of-american-currency-from-the-1700s

Hannah-Jones, N. (2021). The 1619 Project. New York. One World

History.com Editors. (2022, January 25). Underground Railroad. HISTORY. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/underground-railroad

History.com Editors. (2021, November 16). Quakers. HISTORY. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/history-of-quakerism

Klein, C. (July 8, 2020, updated: October 16, 2020). Alexander Hamilton’s Complicated relationship to Slavery. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/alexander-hamilton-slavery-facts

Laliberte, M.  (July 26, 2021). What Those Symbols on the Dollar Bill actually mean. Reader’s Digest.com https://www.rd.com/list/dollar-bill-symbols/

Landis, M. (September 9, 2015). A Proposal To Change The Words We Use When Talking About The Civil War. Smithsonian Magazine.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/proposal-change-vocabulary-we-use-when-talking-about-civil-war-180956547/

Musgrave, P. (2021, February 9). Take the Presidents Off the U.S. Dollar. Foreign Policy. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/09/america-currency-outdated-tubman-jackson/

Pruitt, S.  (September 21, 2012, updated: June 23, 2020). 5 Things you may not know about Abraham Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation. History.com

https://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-lincoln-slavery-and-emancipation

Smith, R. (2012, April 4). Redesigning Dollar Bills, and the American Brand - NYTimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/04/bringing-dollars-and-cents-into-this-century/redesigning-dollar-bills-and-the-american-brand

Weatherford, J. (1997). The History of Money. New York, Three Rivers Press.

Louise Jefferson was a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, and civil rights activist. Born in Washington, DC, Jefferson spent much of her career in Harlem, New York. It was there that she became the first female African-American art director in publishing. While working as the art director for the Friendship Press, she also did freelance work for civil rights publications such as Opportunity (which encouraged young Black writers) and Crisis, the official publication of the NAACP. She worked on a children’s book titled We Sing America that was intended to educate children about the realities of being black in America. It was controversial, and even banned in Georgia. Jefferson later illustrated E. Jefferson Murphy’s book Understanding Africa, which showed the cultural richness and diversity of Africa. The project she seemed most proud of was her own book The Decorative Arts of Africa which documented the cultures and lifestyle of the peoples of Africa. The book took several years and five trips to Africa to complete. Jefferson lived in times and places of turmoil. She fought racial discrimination and stood for social justice. She worked tirelessly to increase opportunities for her fellow Black Americans through programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Harlem Artists Guild. Her entire career was characterized by her determination to improve life and create more opportunity for Black Americans.

TIMELINE

1908 – b Louise Jefferson in Washington, DC.
1919 – Race riots break out across DC.
1935 –  Louise Jefferson moves to Harlem in New York and becomes a photographer. The first Harlem riot breaks out. Jefferson helps found the Harlem Artists Guild to fund public works post-Depression.
1936 – We Sing America is published, featuring illustrations from Jefferson. Intended to educate children about the realities of being Black in America and including depictions of desegregated groups of children, the book is quickly banned in Georgia.
1940 – Louise visits the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama during the period of what would become known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Louise captures the sense of depression and grief within the community on film.
1942 – Louise becomes art director at Friendship Press, becoming the first female African American art director in the publishing industry.
1969 – Jefferson illustrates the educational book Understanding Africa and works on her own book Decorative Arts of Africa.
1973 – Decorative Arts of Africa is published, becoming one of the first large collections documenting African culture, containing over 300 illustrations and photographs. Jefferson later retires.
2002 – d Louise Jefferson in Litchfield, Connecticut.

REFERENCES

About Ghana. (2021). UNDP in Ghana. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://www.gh.undp.org/content/ghana/en/home/countryinfo.html

About. (2021). National Urban League. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://nul.org

Banks, T. J. (2012). Sketch people: Stories along the way. Inspiring Voices.

Brockell, G. (2019, July 15). The deadly race riot ‘aided and abetted’ by The Washington Post a century ago. The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/15/deadly-race-riot-aided-abetted-by-washington-post-century-ago/

Convis, C. (2020). 1908-2002 Louise E. Jefferson, artist publisher photographer mapmaker. Esri Community. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://community.esri.com/t5/conservation-gis-documents/1908-2002-louise-e-jefferson-
artist-publisher-photographer/ta-p/914970

Daniel Hale Williams and the first successful heart surgery. (n.d.) Columbia University Department of Surgery. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://columbiasurgery.org/news/daniel-hale-williams-and-first-successful-heart-surgery

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, The. (n.d.). Opportunity. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Opportunity-American-magazine

Facincani, L. (2012). Jefferson, Louise E. (1908-2002). Amistad Research Center. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from http://amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=845

Gross, J. (2012). Then: 125th street. NYC then/now: Great depression & great recession. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/brooks12/then-125th-street/

Heller, J. (2017, May 10). AP was there: Black men untreated in Tuskegee syphilis study. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://apnews.com/article/e9dd07eaa4e74052878a68132cd3803a

Jefferson, L. (1946). Americans of negro lineage [Map]. Friendship Press.

Jefferson, L. (1987) Alabama boy [Photograph]. Mutual Art. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from 
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Alabama-Boy/D89D81A498D419E2?freeunlock=AF4CB17BDA2069E2

King, J. (2018). Louise E. Jefferson’s design journey. AIGA. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from 
https://www.aiga.org/design-journeys-louise-e-jefferson

Louise E. Jefferson. (2021). Petrucci Family Foundation Collection. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from 
https://pffcollection.com/artists/louise-e-jefferson/

Louise E. Jefferson. (n.d.) Extravagant Crowd. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from http://brbl-archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/cvvpw/gallery/jefferson.html

McQuirter, M. (2003). A brief history of African Americans in Washington, DC. Cultural Tourism DC. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/a-brief-history-of-african-americans-in-washington-dc

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. (1936). We Sing America. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from 
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/f0881d50-e599-0134-43d6-098d51a24b40

Whitebeck, D. (1984, February). Gallery. The Hartford Courant, E10

 Their first series of classes focused on “Black Design in America”, highlighting histories and voices that are often overlooked in traditional design education.

More about the BIPOC Design History series:

https://bipocdesignhistory.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bipocdesignhistory/

https://twitter.com/BipocDesign

More about Polymode:

https://www.polymode.studio/

https://www.instagram.com/polymodestudio/

Silas’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siborg81/

Brian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernjss/

This is our last episode of our season! We’ve been glad to share these conversations with you and hope you’ve enjoyed listening. Remember you can get in touch with us anytime at alumni@risd.edu, we look forward to hearing from you.