Media of Protest, Advocacy and Activism
The media of protest and activism is broad in scope and encompases a variety of different forms. Some mediums like flyers advertising protests are designed to organize and promote a specific event, and are created without a mentality of permanence. These items are interesting to study for the exact reason that they were not created to be studied, rather to be briefly circulated to achieve their intended purpose. Other mediums such as murals and literature promoting activism are designed to last longer and carry a desired message within their work.
These forms of media are still ephemeral in nature as they are subject to their changing environment and existing power structures. These mediums, in contrast to organized protests which are much more overt but temporary, are created to remind viewers of their message in a quieter but more consistent manner. Media of activism is generally targeted to a specific audience. For example, the protest flyer found in this page was created with college students in mind, the anti-gentrification mural painted on the outside of the El Centro Chicano building has an intended audience based on location, and the All-Negro Comics is intended for black readers to unify a specific movement and instil a sense of pride. By studying content intended for protest and activism we can gain a sense of understanding of the movement in the moment that these pieces were created, as well as recognize forces that lead to their preservation or disappearance.
El Centro Chicano: This powerfully anti-gentrification mural, painted on the outside of the El Centro Chicano building, reflected the priorites of the activists, known as the Brown Berets, who used the building as a headquarters.
The highly visible mural claimed public space for the predominately Chicaono and Mexican American residents that the City of Austin's gentrification plans would have forced out. Valdez said of the mural: "The displacement of families is clearly explained. Its totally in your face, you can see what's happening. The cops are protecting some people and not the others. There was a lot of police brutality as well, against Mexicanos or Chicanos" (Gentrification in Austin).
Murals, however, are only as permanent as the walls they are painted on. The El Centro Chicano was destroyed by arson in 1978. This "violent erasure of community archives" is just one incident in "the city’s long history of segregation, discrimination, and erasure" (Rascón 1).
1984 Kissinger Protest Flyer: A 1984 flyer advertises a student lead protest in regards to Henry Kissinger's invitation to speak at the University of Texas at Austin. Students were protesting Kissinger and the Nixon administration's large role in the rise of repressive dictatorships in Latin America during the Cold War era. In this illustration Kissinger is depicted wearing a ring with the words "Wall Street" to emphasize the power that multinational corporations have historically exercised in United States foreign policy.
This is a collection of newsletters, pamphlets, and zines that discuss motives and plans of action in regards to ending the Vietnam War. Covers events including the 1971 Mayday Protests, Anti-Vietnam War rallies, etc.
Mayday Pamphlet/Protest Guide: This object has illustrations and photos throughout pages, and are very striking and colorful, seemingly influenced by psychedelic and hippy art, as well as description of plan to “take over” Washington D.C. as a way of protesting the Vietnam War (includes maps of Washington D.C with routes, centers of protest, plans of how to get into the city, etc.)
The pamphlet with the context of the “Pentagon Papers Digest” and “Off Our Backs'' calls into question just how inclusive this pamphlet aimed to be. There are small descriptions of women and the LGBTQ+ community joining this movement in solidarity and protest, but little mention of any Vietnamese people or people of color. The only depiction of a Vietnamese person is an image of what looks to be a Vietnamese soldier crying with colorful decorations surrounding him.
“A Pentagon Papers Digest”: This object is a small pamphlet written by the Indochina Information Project, which seems to be an activist group from the early 1970s against American troops in Vietnam, focusing on crimes committed by the U.S.A on Vietnamese land. Pamphlet describes how the U.S Government purposely withheld information from the American people regarding motives and implementation of troops in Vietnam. There are also descriptions of how many Vietnamese civilians have been harmed by American occupancy, but there is no insight from any Vietnamese person in the entire pamphlet, there are many photos of Vietnamese soldiers and Civilians dead, suffering, and looking sad, but no words or insight from anyone that is actually Vietnamese.