“Free but not Equal”: In the Wake of Trayvon Martin—American Anger and Visual Activism

Authors

  • Imani Wadud The University of Regensburg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5283/copas.198

Keywords:

American Anger, Visual Activism, Social Media, Affect, Trayvon Martin

Abstract

This essay highlights how one event like the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin can be a catalyst that urges deep-rooted anger to surface in many American communities. My case study consists of photographs taken at the planned demonstration from Union Square to Times Square in New York City in July 2013. The iconography surrounding the protests in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict is explicated, and I draw on notions of how democracy at its best is portrayed though artistic activism and dissent.

Author Biography

Imani Wadud, The University of Regensburg

Imani Wadud is a Master's student in the American Studies Department at the University of Regensburg, where she focuses on European/American Cultural Studies. She is a Washington D.C. native who received a Bachelor's degree in Art History with a minor in Political Science in 2003 from the College of Wooster in Ohio. Currently, she works as a graduate research assistant at the Chair of American Studies. Her research examines how community-based arts projects simultaneously empower communities both transnationally and locally, the impact of social media in popular culture, and raced and gendered bodies amongst other topics. Broadly, Imani Wadud is interested in visual culture studies and performance studies.

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How to Cite

Wadud, Imani. “‘Free But Not Equal’: In the Wake of Trayvon Martin—American Anger and Visual Activism”. Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, Apr. 2014, doi:10.5283/copas.198.

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2013): Sentiment

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.