Solidarity Struggle Victory
October 2019, 5.75 x 8.75 in, 68 pages, b&w, 12 color plates
Design: Sming Sming Books
Solidarity Struggle Victory is 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.
Curated by PJ Gubatina Policarpio at Southern Exposure, 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.
Solidarity Struggle Victory features artists Sadie Barnette, Demian DinéYazhi´, Dignidad Rebelde, Patrick Martinez, Dylan Miner, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Jerome Reyes. It includes writing by Amy Sueyoshi, Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, and San Francisco poet and educator, Tongo Eisen-Martin. The book comes in three different colors: Mint Green, Salmon Pink, or Goldenrod Yellow. Each one comes with a sticker by either Dylan Miner or Dignidad Rebelde on its cover.