Prepared statement for Rhetorical Critique

My goal throughout this project was to draw upon the rich historical context of Black Americans as a reminder of the sacrifice made for the right to vote and the detriment of not voting on the demographic. I felt this was the most appropriate approach contextually and deliberately avoided obvious motifs such as hip-hop. In doing so, both of my posters draw upon two historical events that represent the two particular points in Black American suffrage movement.

Firstly, the "noose" poster employs the rhetorical trope of allegory by using the noose as a symbol for the larger principle death to those who attempted to vote prior to 1965. The 15th amendment passed in 1870 gave Black American males the right to vote. However from 1870-1965 these rights were denied at the state level via poll taxes, literacy tests, physical harm, and death including many lynches. I wanted to use the noose to evoke a visceral emotional response from the viewer, isolated on a solemn background to harness the power of the image and focus on the message. The image/photo was crafted in a style that was found during my visual audit that seem to recur as a method of expressing serious topics for example the Obama cover of Vibe magazine.

The march poster solicits the power of the civil rights march in Selma Alabama, that lead to the eventual passing of the Voters Right Act of 1965 that finally solidified the right for all Black Americans to vote without obstacles to the booth. The poster uses the trope of synecdoche, using the marching feet as a call to action by marching to the booth, the feet (a part) representative of the whole. This poster was visually inspired by the Black Panther Party's newspaper covers. I wanted to harness the grittiness and spirit of the apparent process "no frills" approach that employs very graphic and iconic imagery to signify the importance of the message over the means/technique and employ that historical aesthetic to add extra meaning.