Documentary Photographs | Ecology and Environment | Health | Politics | Protest | Racial Justice | RISD Students and Institutional Governance
Collection of Archival content past to present centering on issues of Racial Justice in the RISD community. Visit RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) for current information and documentation of racial justice initiatives on campus.
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2020 RISD BI+POC Student Demands for Racial Equity & Inclusion
RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) and RISD Archives
RISD Anti-Racism Coalition (risdARC) demands document presented to the RISD Community, July, 2020.
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President Somerson Announces Action Plan for Social Equity
RISD President, Rosanne Somerson, and RISD Archives
President Rosanne Somerson's announcement of an Action Plan for Social Equity at RISD.
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RISD and Race Forum
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD), Jada Akoto, Sarah Alvarez, and RISD Archives
A forum held on June 16, 2020, led by Jada Akoto and Sarah Alvarez addressing members of the RISD Administration (The President's Cabinet, the Dean's Council, Department Heads, Graduate Program Directors and Associate Provost, Social Equity & Inclusion & SEI Advisor to the President Matthew Shenoda).
“In this conversation we are asking you to actively listen, not speak. It is important that students have a forum to express and share their own stories about how this institution as a whole has never handled our identities to expected standards.
After this conversation, we then will allow you to address our demands within each department and administrative level. We hope that you will practice more than the performative allyship we’ve seen across all ranks. Within the following week, we want you to tell us how you are going to fix the problems we have presented across all departments and administrative levels. This is more than enough time to think of a thoroughly considered plan on how to help the students who fund the institution.”-Jada Akoto (GD'21)
Speakers in order of appearance: Matthew Shenoda, Jada Akoto, Sarah Alvarez, Lauryn Levette, Felicita Devlin, Afi Goncalves, Aya, Sara Park, Ezzy Goncalves, Mary Kuan, Nailah Golden, Lauren Rausaw, Joyce Kutty, Natyana Fonseca, Rey Londres, Leslie Ponce-Díaz, Soleil Singh, Elaine Lopez, Stephan Foster, Pooja Nitturkar, Namrata Dhore, Taj Richardson, and Cullen Dirgins. This video is also available on Vimeo.
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Am I White Enough?
Sarah Dahsohl Im and RISD Archives
Representasian Campaign poster created by RISD Alumni Sarah Dahsohl Im. REPRESENTASIAN is a campaign made to raise awareness about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, specifically criticizing the whitewashing of Asian characters. Creating a visual system that was cohesive, bold, and easy to recognize was key. The color yellow and white paint were used as the main design elements. The deliverables for this campaign were accessable across print and digital platforms. Stickers, posters, and social media posts were spread with the hashtag #representasian. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with peers responding with their own experiences with whitewashing and others using the hashtag.
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Black Lives Matter
Graphic Design Department and RISD Archives
Black Lives Matter print poster displayed on campus.
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It's RISD. Get used to it.
Graphic Design Department and RISD Archives
Student led campaign to discuss biases encountered during RISD critiques. "Let's Crit Crit" slogan.
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Letter to RISD Community
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD), Malaika Temba, Qualeasha Wood, and RISD Archives
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) Letter to the RISD Community January, 2017.
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No, you're wrong.
Graphic Design Department and RISD Archives
Student led campaign to discuss biases encountered during RISD critiques. "Let's Crit Crit" slogan.
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The Waiting Room
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
The Waiting Room facebook event description.
Text reads: Join us at our pop up spa for a full day of healing. In reaction to institutional neglect following last years "Not Your Token" Protest and Teach-In, and lack of response to RISD's SEA recommendations, we will open up for a day of self care on the 4th floor of Prov Wash as we massage the supremacy out of our institution. We'll have some treats for yall so wear and bring whatever you need (homework too!) to be your best, comfortable self.
This spa cannot treat afflictions of: racism, class differences, supremacy, dishonesty, disrespect, and internal corruption. We may only provide recommendations of removal, before such afflictions spread. Thank you! The waiting room ~
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The Waiting Room
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
The Waiting Room event poster.
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The Waiting Room
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
The Waiting Room event poster.
Text Reads: Welcome to THE BAADEST Waiting Room, founded on May 3, 2017 in response to the blatant disrespect, and lethargic responses to BAAD's list of demands and the hours of free labor that SEA committee members volunteered in order to create concrete recommendations for the school to implement. We occupy this space as a display of discontent, disobedience, and radical self care in an institution that demands constant physical production. We demand that President Rosanne Somerson and administration members end the RISD cycle of two-faced bullshitting and back-stabbing. If we do not receive a response, we are more than happy [to] offer our art and design skills to build a crowdfunding campaign asking for compensation of the free labor that has gone wasted again.
In the meantime we wait.
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The Waiting Room Photo Shoot
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
Photos of The Waiting Room event participants with spa face masks and sliced cucumbers.
Opening text reads: Welcome to THE BAADEST Waiting Room, founded on May 3, 2017 in response to the blatant disrespect, and lethargic responses to BAAD's list of demands and the hours of free labor that SEA committee members volunteered in order to create concrete recommendations for the school to implement. We occupy this space as a display of discontent, disobedience, and radical self care in an institution that demands constant physical production. We demand that President Rosanne Somerson and administration members end the RISD cycle of two-faced bullshitting and back-stabbing. If we do not receive a response, we are more than happy [to] offer our art and design skills to build a crowdfunding campaign asking for compensation of the free labor that has gone wasted again.
In the meantime we wait.
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Black Lives Matter Free Community Printing Event
AS220 and RISD Archives
Poster promoting Black Lives Matter free printing event hosted by Providence artist collective AS220, displayed on campus.
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My Uber Driver said "Xie Xie" to me...
Jenny Li and RISD Archives
他们不懂, tamenbudong, You Don't Understand campaign poster created by RISD alumni Jenny Li. Poster reads: My Uber driver said "Xie Xie" to me when I left the car, assuming I was Chinese.
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Not Your Token
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
Poster for Not Your Token protest organized by RISD BAAD (Black Artists And Designers), held April 6, 2016 in Market Square, Providence, RI.
Text Reads:
Not Your Token
It is not our job to educate you.
But we will demand to be listened to.
Who does this "progressive" institution represent?
When 'western' education is the only thing of value.
Equality does not equal equity.
Our identities and experiences cannot be bought.
We are more than a statistic.
We are more than a data point.
We are more than loose change.
We are people with a desire to learn;
And we demand to be treated that way.Protest: Wednesday April 6th 4:00 PM
Teach-in: Wednesday April 13th 4:00 PM
Chace Center EntranceWear Black.
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Not Your Token
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD), Selene Means, and RISD Archives
Video documentary of the Rhode Island School of Design Black Artists and Designers demonstration in Providence Rhode Island. Directed by Selene Means. Additional footage by Eloise Sherrid. Mentor: Julie Mallozzi. Additional Editing: Eric Telfort, Jelayna Stephens. Poster title by Uté Petit. Organizers offer special thanks: "Chantal Feitosa, Olivia Stephens, Uté Petit, Michelle Zhuang and David Guy. Thank you to every single person who attended Not Your Token and continues the conversation today."
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Racism is Not Normal, Misogyny is Not Normal, Fraud is Not Normal
DWRI Letterpress and RISD Archives
Letterpress printed poster created by Providence-based artist DWRI Letterpress displayed on campus.
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Social Equities That Don't Exist Yet.
Project LETS and RISD Archives
Poster for Social Equities that Don't Exists Yet, an unbiased conversation sponsored by the RISD chapter of Project LETS (Let's Erase The Stigma). Project LETS is a mental health advocacy group as well as a peer support network, dedicated to erasing the stigma around mental health and talking about mental health issues, especially as it relates to the RISD experience.
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The Room of Silence
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and Eloise Sherrid
Video created by RISD alumni Eloise Sherrid addressing race and identity from RISD student perspectives.
“The Room of Silence,” is a short documentary about race, identity and marginalization at the Rhode Island School of Design. Based on interviews conducted by myself and the campus organization Black Artists and Designers, this film contains well under a third of the stories we collected in March 2016, and an unknown fraction of the stories belonging to students we didn’t have a chance to meet with.
This video is meant to serve as a discussion tool and testimony on behalf of the growing student activist movement on our campus, and around the country. The video has been shown at faculty and departmental meetings, and its release online marks the next step in exposing these issues and fostering dialogue between students and school.
There are a lot of issues present in the extremely intersectional problem this video is attempting to tackle: issues that cannot and should not be simplified down and crammed into twenty minutes. Please consider this the first entry in a necessary conversation. - Eloise Sherrid
This video is also available on Vimeo.
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We Demand
Black Artists and Designers (BAAD) and RISD Archives
We Demand poster. Demands focused on racial justice made by RISD students to the administration in 2016.
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"This is the City This is the World This is a Small School: Diversity and the RISD Population," Mixed Media, Vol. 1, No. 3, April 22,1996
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
Article from the Mixed Media, Vol. 1, No. 3, April 22,1996 student newspaper.
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Black Artist in Graphic Communication
Dorothy Hayes, Reynold Ruffins, Mahler Ryder, and RISD Archives
Poster for traveling exhibition of Black graphic designers. Held at Woods-Gerry gallery.
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Black Emergency Cultural Coalition
Black Emergency Cultural Coalition, Johansen, and RISD Archives
Black ink illustration of RISD campus and Providence, East Side hillside buildings, atop hands clasped in handshake. Text reads: Friday - March 27. Panel discussion with: The Art Workers Coalition & The Black Emergency Cultural Coalition regarding Artists & Community. 7:30 pm Refectory
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Directions in the Work of Black American Artists | Barry Gaither
Barry Gaither, Maurice Burns, and RISD Archives
Poster using the three colors of the Pan-African flag, showing portrait omage of Dr. Barry Gaither, Curator for the Museumof the National Center of African American Artists. May 4, 1970 was the date of the Kent State University campus shootings, where 4 anti-war protestors were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard. RISD, as well as campuses across the U.S., shut down as students went on strike in protest of the Kent State killings. It is likely that the May 5 lecture was canceled and rescheduled for the fall [see October 20, 1970 poster for same lecture].
Text reads: Lecture: DIRECTIONS IN THE WORK OF BLACK AMERICAN ARTISTS by Barry Gaither, Curator, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists. Tuesday, May 5, 1970 8 p.m. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Memorial Hall, Entrance through the museum.
Read more about Barry Gaither at ncaaa.org. Poster designed by Maurice Burns, read more at mauriceburns.com.
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Directions in the Work of Black American Artists | Barry Gaither
Barry Gaither, Maurice Burns, and RISD Archives
Poster using the three colors of the Pan-African flag, showing portrait omage of Dr. Barry Gaither, Curator for the Museumof the National Center of African American Artists. Derivation of previous poster (May 5 1970). May 4, 1970 was the date of the Kent State University campus shootings, where 4 anti-war protestors were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard. RISD, as well as campuses across the U.S., shut down as students went on strike in protest of the Kent State killings. It is likely that the May 5 lecture was canceled and rescheduled for October 20, 1970 [see May 5, 1970 poster for same lecture].
Text reads: Lecture by Barry Gaither "DIRECTIONS IN THE WORK OF BLACK AMERICAN ARTISTS" Tuesday Oct. 20 8p.m. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Curator, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.
Read more about Barry Gaither at ncaaa.org. Poster designed by Maurice Burns, read more at mauriceburns.com.
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John Torres Published Letter January 27,1970, RISD Paper, February 2, 1970
John Torres and RISD Archives
Article from the RISD Paper, February 2, 1970.
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"We Demand," RISD Paper, March 23, 1970
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
Article from the RISD Paper, March 23, 1970 student newspaper.
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Black History Class "Student Group Turns Activist," Designer's News May 12-18, 1969
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
Article from the Designer's News, May 12-18, 1969 student newspaper, page 4.
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Black Student Community of RISD Statement of Belief, 1969
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
A "Statement of Belief" and an outline for progress submitted by the Black student community at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on January 15, 1969. It calls upon the administration to adjust its educational and social priorities to meaningfully incorporate and reflect Black American culture, noting that having only six Black students out of a student body of over one thousand constitutes tokenism. The document details six core points to address these systemic issues: Minority Student Recruitment, Financial Assistance, Recruitment Funding, Black Faculty and Staff Hiring, Curriculum Reform, and Long-Term Implementation. The petition concludes with an appeal for immediate, decisive action from the administration to correct longstanding institutional indifference.
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"Count Me Out," RISD Paper, Vol.1, No.3, October, 1969
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
Article from the RISD Paper, October 27, 1969 student newspaper.
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Designer's News May 19, 1969
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
The Designer's News was a student-run weekly newspaper published in the late 1960s. The issue of May 19-25, 1969 featured an article about the RISD Landscape Architecture department's study to save Block Island, RI. There also was an interview with John Torres about summer programs at RISD and at a school in Vermont, and an article about a RISD photo student who taught local pre-teens about photography. Also included was an article about the Rhode Island Art Festival and some RISD students who were volunteering their time to help.
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"Hit Them Hard and Low: You May Not Be in this Game Long," RISD Paper Vol.1, No.1, October 13, 1969
John Torres and RISD Archives
Article from the RISD Paper, Vol. 1, No.1, October 1969 student newspaper, page 2. John Torres was hired in 1969 as the Director fo the Third World Program, RISD's first administrator in charge of recruiting Black students.
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Student Administration Communication Proposal, 1969
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
Student Administration Communication Proposal.
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We the Black Community of Rhode Island School of Design, 1968
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
A declaration by the Black Community of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to the administration protesting institutional inequality, tokenism, lack of Black administrators / faculty, and announcing solidarity with Black students at Brown University.
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White Affirmation of Support for the RISD Black Community, 1968
Students of RISD and RISD Archives
A statement of solidarity written by "Concerned White Students" at Rhode Island School of Design. Key points: solidarity and self-determination , institutional racism, support for Black student demands, and a call to action to treat these demands with genuine seriousness and invites them to sign a forthcoming petition showing their formal support.
