Sadie Barnette, Demian DinéYazhi´, Patrick Martinez, Dylan Miner, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Dignidad Rebelde, Jerome Reyes
Southern Exposure presents Solidarity Struggle Victory, a contemporary appraisal of one of the Bay Area’s most revolutionary contributions to the world: the right to learn about ourselves. This exhibition showcases six artists and one collective whose diverse practices reflect the region’s legacy of critical engagement, radical activism and the ethos of solidarity, self-determination, and emancipatory education.
Solidarity Struggle Victory commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the country’s first ever College of Ethnic Studies, established at San Francisco State College in 1969, ushering in a national movement for the transformation of higher education. Beginning in November 1968, the Black Students Union and the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) organized a student strike joined by faculty, staff, and community members to protest systemic racism and overall disregard for the concerns of Indigenous students and students of color. The months-long struggle formed in solidarity among Black, Indigenous, and people of color and their allies demanded greater access and diversity in students and educators and revised curriculum that included the histories of all people. In the fall of 1969, the College of Ethnic Studies welcomed students in its four founding departments: American Indian Studies, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, and La Raza Studies. The new College cemented the era’s newfound recognition for the intellectual, artistic, and cultural contributions of Black, Indigenous Peoples and people of color throughout the nation.
In conjunction with the exhibition, E.M. Wolfman Bookstore will curate a selection of books and texts that engage with radical education, pedagogy, social justice, and other related themes which will be available to purchase or browse. An exhibition catalogue will be produced in collaboration with Sming Sming Books.
-https://soex.org/projects-exhibitions/solidarity-struggle-victory
12/17/2019
