This past weekend SALDEF presented the fifth part of the series Demystifying U.S. History and Activating Sikh Action for Black Justice Movements. Part V of the series Roots and Resistance: Anti-Blackness in American Visual Culture with Professor Bridget R. Cooks presented the roots of anti-Blackness in American art and explored how those ideas of hate have developed through the twenty-first century in popular visual culture. Cooks shared examples of resistance to hate by contemporary Black visual artists.
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Roots and Resistance: Anti-Blackness in American Visual Culture with Professor Bridget R. Cooks
“Sikh people are familiar with the destructive power of visuals. Whether that’s the film industry caricatures of Sikh stereotypes or Sardar jokes,” Dr. Tavleen Kaur says as she introduces the episode Roots and Resistance: Anti-Blackness in American Visual Culture. Through her introduction and moderation, Kaur asks the viewers to look to Gurbani as a moral compass to prevent racist tendencies. She goes through a list of Sikhs who we can look to for guidance on supporting Black justice movements, including Saint Nihal Singh from 1906, and Jaswant Singh Dhami, one of the founders of the Indian Workers Association of Southall.
Throughout the presentation, Dr. Cooks and Dr. Kaur go through numerous examples of art, showing the evolution of racism as a subject perpetuated through art and art being used to combat racism. Throughout Dr. Cook’s presentation, Dr. Kaur finds parallels in the Sikh history to remind us, the viewer, of the importance and connection we have to this critical issue.
To watch Episode I Colonial Uprisings and The Creation of “Race” / From the colonial period to the eve of Civil War with Dr. Nneka D. Dennie CLICK HERE
To watch Episode II Black Resistance and Continued Protest / From Civil War to Mandated Desegregation with Channon Miller PhD CLICK HERE
To watch Episode III Fighting for Civil Rights / From Liberation Movements to the Movement for Black Lives with Dr. Ashley Howard CLICK HERE
To watch Episode IV Fighting for Black Trans Lives In Liberation Movements CLICK HERE
For more information on the series CLICK HERE