Cicely J. Sweed

The Search for Angela Davis: A Meditation on Revolutionary Commodities and Neo-Hoodoo Advertising

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As the genesis of a much larger thesis on the relationship between subcultural style commodities and the creation of revolutionary icons/political celebrities and modes of dissent, this section of the thesis investigates the co-optation of the visual narratives of the revolutionary icon or celebrity in consumer culture. More specifically, it will establish the historical and cultural narratives embedded in the different faces and appropriations of Angela Davis as a symbol at the forefront of the black liberation struggle. These narratives demonstrate how the popularity and commodification of a revolutionary icon can serve as commentary on the increasing historical amnesia of the resistance or liberation movements associated with the icon. As visual narratives in the historical trip of co-optation, the widespread reappropriation of these icons stands as a testament to both the political empowerment and disempowerment of the people who embrace them with a desire to access that revolutionary history.