My partner in the mixtape video assignment was Kimlyn Teague. The artifact he chose was titled A Black Power Salute touching on the cultural importance and production of the black power fist, more specifically when used in the 1968 Olympics. The start of the Civil Rights Movement was around the same time, the early 60s, and Teague makes mention of how African Americans fought to abolish slavery and oppression in non-violent acts and peaceful protesting. However, with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., African Americans were, in a sense, so distraught that his death influenced the era of the Black Power Movement. Also made mentioned were three primary misconceptions and representations from society concerning black people: Animalistic, the theory that black people were perceived as being sub-human and more like animals than humans. Voiceless is the theory that black people were represented as being so socially oppressed that they did not have a voice to speak up against their oppressors. And complacency, African Americans, as a people, had made some progress, and many represented them as being satisfied with the marginal progress made. These three common misconceptions helped fuel the black power movement into what it was.
Regarding the artifact itself, I feel as though Teague did an excellent job of analyzing it. Being provided with backstory information on the development of the black power fist and the entire movement provides great insight. Even more, the breakdown of the image with Tommie Smith and John Carlos was very informative; prior to this project, I never knew the amount of symbolism in the image itself, from the scarf that was worn, symbolizing black pride, to the open jacket representing and speaking for blue-collar [black] workers back in the United States. Also, receiving ...
