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Say Their Name

Two photographs are on the page. The top photograph features a protestor standing in front of a sign that reads “STREET TRANSVESTITES ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES”. The protester, Sylvia Rivera, is holding flyers. The second photograph is of marchers carrying a banner with the same text on a sidewalk. There’s accompanying text between the two photographs. It is included below.

STREET TRANSVESTITES ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES FONT

“AS A TRANS LATINA, SYLVIA RIVERA WAS AN OUTLIER AMONG WHITE GAY MEN AND LESBIAN FEMINISTS. IN 1970, SHE COFOUNDED THE MILITANT GROUP AND YOUTH SHELTER STAR (STREET TRANSVESTITE ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES) WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN TRANS ACTIVIST MARSHA P. JOHNSON (1945-1992), PROVIDING VULNERABLE AND HOMELESS TRANS TEENAGERS WITH FOOD AND CLOTHING.” https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/object/sylvia-rivera

REST IN POWER
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
descana en el poder

 

The majority of the page is text. It is included below. At the bottom of the page are two photographs placed side by side. The leftmost photograph is of two protestors, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, walking down the middle of a New York City street. The photograph on the right is a group of people posing together. The image is framed below by text that reads “S.T.A.R. STREET TRANSVESTITES ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES”

Y’ALL BETTER QUIET DOWN 1973 BY SYLVIA RIVERA

Y’ALL BETTER QUIET DOWN. I’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET UP HERE ALL DAY FOR YOUR GAY BROTHERS AND YOUR GAY SISTERS IN JAIL….

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BEATEN UP AND RAPED AND JAILED? NOW THINK ABOUT IT. THEY’VE BEEN BEATEN UP AND RAPED…. THE WOMEN HAVE TRIED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR SEX CHANGES OR TO BECOME WOMEN…. THEY DO NOT WRITE WOMEN. THEY DO NOT WRITE MEN. THEY WRITE ‘STAR’ BECAUSE WE’RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING FOR THEM.

I HAVE BEEN TO JAIL. I HAVE BEEN RAPED. AND BEATEN MANY TIMES! BY MEN, HETEROSEXUAL MEN THAT DO NOT BELONG IN THE HOMOSEXUAL SHELTER. BUT DO YOU DO ANYTHING FOR ME? NO. YOU TELL ME TO GO AND HIDE MY TAIL BETWEEN MY LEGS. I WILL NOT PUT UP WITH THIS SHIT. I HAVE BEEN BEATEN. I HAVE HAD MY NOSE BROKEN. I HAVE BEEN THROWN IN JAIL. I HAVE LOST MY JOB. I HAVE LOST MY APARTMENT FOR GAY LIBERATION AND YOU ALL TREAT ME THIS WAY? WHAT THE FUCK’S WRONG WITH YOU ALL? THINK ABOUT THAT!

… I BELIEVE IN GAY POWER. I BELIEVE IN US GETTING OUR RIGHTS. OR ELSE I WOULD NOT BE OUT THERE FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS. THAT’S ALL I WANTED TO SAY TO YOU PEOPLE … COME AND SEE THE PEOPLE AT STAR HOUSE….

THE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING FOR ALL OF US, AND NOT MEN AND WOMEN THAT BELONG TO A WHITE MIDDLE CLASS CLUB. AND THAT’S WHAT YOU ALL BELONG TO! REVOLUTION NOW! GIMME A ‘G’! GIMME AN ‘A’! GIMME A ‘Y’! GIMME A ‘P’! GIMME AN ‘O’! GIMME A ‘W’! GIMME AN ‘E’! GIMME AN ‘R’! LOUDER! GAY POWER!

 

13 photographs are arranged in a grid pattern showcasing a variety of different gay rights and HIV/AIDS protests. Around the photographs, the text reads “ACT UP PROTEST FONT” AND “UPPERCASE.” The letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1-9 are shown as well.

 

9 photographs are arranged in a grid pattern showcasing a variety of different gay rights and HIV/AIDS protests. Around the photographs, the text reads “ACT UP PROTEST FONT” AND AND “lowercase.” The letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1-9 are shown as well.

ACT UP PROTEST FONT

LEVERAGING THE AUTHORITY AFFORDED TO LANGUAGE BY TYPOGRAPHIC FORM, OAKLEY’S TYPEFACES PULL DISSENTING LETTERFORMS AND NARRATIVES FROM QUEER HISTORY INTO CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT. THROUGH THE ACT OF DIGITIZATION, THE WORK SIMULTANEOUSLY FUNCTIONS AS AN ARCHIVE AS WELL AS A PLATFORM OF VISIBILITY FOR VOICES LARGELY EXCLUDED FROM THE FIELD IN WHICH THE WORK IS POSITIONED. FORMALLY ‘NICE,’ THE LETTER FORMS TRANSCEND STATIC INTERPRETATION WHEN IN CONTEXT OF THE LANGUAGE PRESENT ON THEIR SPECIMENS AND OAKLEY’S OPEN SOURCE DISTRIBUTION MODEL. THE LETTER FORMS BECOME A SITE OF SIGNIFICANCE. THE TYPEFACE A METAPHOR. THE PUBLISHING MODEL AND ACCESS TO THE TYPEFACES, AN ACT OF DISSENT. THE WORK IS UNAPOLOGETIC TO ITS TRESPASSES, AND PUSHES AGAINST HEGEMONIC AESTHETICS AND VALUES. BY EMPLOYING ASPECTS OF LIVED EXPERIENCE AND CULTURE ARE EXTERNAL TO THE TYPOGRAPHIC FIELD ITSELF.

 

The page contains a blue-tinted photograph of a woman holding up a protest sign that reads “Mother Nature is a Lesbian.” The photograph has a caption that reads “One woman makes herself clear in the 1974 New York Christopher Street gay parade.” The letters of the alphabet frame the photograph on both its sides.

 

The majority of the page is text. It is included below. In the top right is a photograph of a protest sign that reads “George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Trayvan Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

 

The majority of the page is text continued from the previous page. It is included below. There is one photograph located at the bottom of the page. It appears to be of a Black Lives Matter protest. Protestors are walking down the middle of a street while holding signs and banners and waving blue smoke. The only two legible signs and banners read: “OAKLAND ‘09, FERGUSON ‘14, BALTIMORE ‘15, ‘MINNEAPOLIS ‘20” and “END POLICE VIOLENCE.”

SAY THEIR NAME

IN 2020, DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WENT TO THE STREET TO PROTEST THE DEATHS OF GEORGE FLOYD, BREONNA TAYLOR AND THE UNFATHOMABLE NUMBER OF UNARMED BLACK PEOPLE MURDERED BY THE POLICE. THE PROTEST SIGNS MADE FOR THESE EVENTS LISTED THE NAME OF THOSE MURDERED BY POLICE. THESE SIGNS DEMANDED THE DEFUNDING OF RACIST POLICE ORGANIZATIONS. THE POPULAR SLOGAN AND HASHTAG, “SAY THEIR NAME,” IS USED TO HELP US REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM US. AFTER SOURCING PHOTO DOCUMENTATION OF PROTESTS, I CREATED AN UPPER AND LOWERCASE A–Z FONT TITLED “SAY THEIR NAME”, USING THE HAND LETTERING OF PROTEST SIGNS DISPLAYING THE NAMES OF THOSE MURDERED BY POLICE.

THESE PROTESTS AND THE ENTIRE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT ARE ABOUT FIGHTING FOR A FUTURE WHERE THE POLICE DO NOT HAVE THE POWER AND RESOURCES TO COMMIT GENOCIDE. THE RESULTING PAGES ARE A LIST OF EVERY UNARMED BLACK PERSON KILLED BY POLICE FROM 2010–2020. SINCE 2010, OVER 121 UNARMED BLACK PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY THE POLICE THIS DATA IS SOURCED FROM RENEE ATER IN AN ONGOING LIST POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE. ATER STATES:

“I AM ANGRY. I AM ANGUISHED. I AM HEARTBROKEN. I AM HOLLOWED OUT. I AM SICK AND TIRED OF POLICE NEEDLESSLY KILLING BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE. SOME POLICE STILL SEE BLACK MEN AS THREATS, TO BRUTALIZE, TO CONTAIN, TO REMAND. THEY HAVE STEREOTYPED OUR GRANDFATHERS, FATHERS, HUSBANDS, SONS, AND NEPHEWS, AS MONSTERS, SUBJECT TO VIOLENCE AND DEATH. THEY HAVE KILLED OUR GRANDMOTHERS, MOTHERS, WIVES, DAUGHTERS, AND NIECES. EVERY TIME I WATCH THE VIDEO OF GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH, MY HEART WEEPS. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND, KNEELS ON ANOTHER HUMAN’S NECK AND IGNORES DESPERATE PLEAS OF “I CAN’T BREATHE”? WHERE IS THE HUMANITY OF THESE WHITE POLICE OFFICERS? POLICING SHOULD NOT BE PREDICATED ON BRUTAL FORCE AND A COMPLETE DISDAIN FOR BLACK LIFE. WHITE SUPREMACY HAS NO PLACE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, IN GOVERNMENT, IN THE WHITE HOUSE, IN THE UNITED STATES. BLACK LIVES MATTER EVERY SECOND, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY HOUR, EVERY DAY.”

IN MAKING THIS PROTEST FONT AND LISTING THESE NAMES, I WANT TO HONOR THOSE LOST BY POLICE VIOLENCE AND THE PEOPLE PROTESTING IN THEIR NAMES. THE DESIGN FIELD IS A WHITE STRAIGHT CISGENDER MALE DOMINATED FIELD THAT REINFORCES HETERONORMATIVE CAPITALIST AESTHETICS. IN MAKING THIS FONT I WANT THOSE WHO USE IT TO REMEMBER THE HISTORY AND REALITY OF ITS POLITICAL POWER; THIS MUST BE A DIRECT INFLUENCE ON ANYTHING WRITTEN WITH IT. EACH PERSON WHO USES THIS FONT IS REMINDED OF THE STATEMENT “SAY THEIR NAME” AND IS CONFRONTED WITH THE POWER OF THAT STATEMENT.

DESIGN IS POWERFUL AND CAN BE AN INVALUABLE TOOL FOR CHANGE, RESISTANCE AND EMPATHY. AS A WHITE NON”BINARY PUBLISHER, WRITER AND DESIGNER, MY WORK LOOKS TO HONOR ACTS OF PROTESTS AND THE URGENCY AND ONGOING ACTIVISM OF THEIR MESSAGE.

THE “SAY THEIR NAME” PROTEST FONT IS AN ACT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE PROTESTING, AN ATTEMPT TO AMPLIFY AND EXPEND THIS POWERFUL MESSAGE THROUGH DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY, IN A CREATIVE FIELD IN WHICH DESIGN IS PRIMARILY USED FOR THE AMPLIFICATION OF CAPITALIST VALUES. MAY THIS FONT AND ITS FUTURE USES INSPIRE RADICAL ACTS OF RESISTANCE, EMPATHY, AND DIRECT ACTIONS TOWARDS A DEFUNDED AND COPLESS FUTURE.

 

The names, birthdates, cities and date of death of victims of police violence are printed in two columns. The text is included below. (1/5)

 

The names, birthdates, cities and date of death of victims of police violence are printed in two columns. The text is included below. (2/5)

 

The names, birthdates, cities and date of death of victims of police violence are printed in two columns. The text is included below. (3/5)

 

The names, birthdates, cities and date of death of victims of police violence are printed in two columns. The text is included below. (4/5)

 

The names, birthdates, cities and date of death of victims of police violence are printed in two columns. The text is included below. (5/5)

Vincent “Vinny” M. Belmonte
2001 – January 5, 2021
Cleveland, Ohio

Patrick Lynn Warren Sr.
1968 – January 10, 2021
Killeen, Texas

Andre Maurice Hill
1973 – December 22, 2020
Columbus, Ohio

Casey Christopher Goodson Jr.
1997 – December 4, 2020
Columbus, Ohio

Angelo “AJ” Crooms
2004 – November 13, 2020
Cocoa, Florida

Sincere Pierce
2002 – November 13, 2020
Cocoa, Florida

Marcellis Stinnette
2001 – October 20, 2020
Waukegan, Illinois

Jonathan Dwayne Price
1988 – October 3, 2020
Wolfe City, Texas

Dijon Durand Kizzee
1991 – August 31, 2020
Los Angeles, California

Rayshard Brooks
1993 – June 12, 2020
Atlanta, Georgia

Carlos Carson
1984 – June 6, 2020
Tulsa, Oklahoma

David McAtee
1966 – June 1, 2020
Louisville, Kentucky

Tony “Tony the Tiger” McDade
1982 – May 27, 2020
Tallahassee, Florida

George Perry Floyd
1973 – May 25, 2020
Powderhorn, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dreasjon “Sean” Reed
1999 – May 6, 2020
Indianapolis, Indiana

Michael Brent Charles Ramos
1978 – April 24, 2020
Austin, Texas

Daniel T. Prude
1978 – March 30, 2020
Rochester, New York

Breonna Taylor
1993 – March 13, 2020
Louisville, Kentucky

Manuel “Mannie” Elijah Ellis
1986 – March 3, 2020
Tacoma, Washington

William Howard Green
1976 – January 27, 2020
Temple Hills, Maryland

John Elliot Neville
1962 – December 4, 2019
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Atatiana Koquice Jefferson
1990 – October 12, 2019
Fort Worth, Texas

Elijah McClain
1996 – August 30, 2019
Aurora, Colorado

Ronald Greene
1969 – May 10, 2019
Monroe, Louisiana

Javier Ambler
1978 – March 28, 2019
Austin, Texas

Sterling Lapree Higgins
1981 – March 25, 2019
Union City, Tennessee

Emantic “EJ” Fitzgerald Bradford Jr.
1997 – November 22, 2018
Hoover, Alabama

Charles “Chop” Roundtree Jr.
2000 – October 17, 2018
San Antonio, Texas

Chinedu Okobi
1982 – October 3, 2018
Millbrae, California

Anton Milbert LaRue Black
1998 – September 15, 2018
Greensboro, Maryland

Botham Shem Jean
1991 – September 6, 2018
Dallas, Texas

Antwon Rose Jr.
2000 – June 19, 2018
East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Saheed Vassell
1983 – April 4, 2018
Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Stephon Alonzo Clark
1995 – March 18, 2018
Sacramento, California

Dennis Plowden Jr.
1992 – December 28, 2017
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bijan Ghaisar
1992 – November 27, 2017
Alexandria, Virginia

Aaron Bailey
1972 – June 29, 2017
Indianapolis, Indiana

Charleena Chavon Lyles
1987 – June 18, 2017
Seattle, Washington

Jordan Edwards
2001 – April 29, 2017
Balch Springs, Texas

Chad Robertson
1992 – February 15, 2017
Chicago, Illinois

Deborah Danner
1950 – October 18, 2016
The Bronx, New York City, New York

Alfred Olango
1978 – September 27, 2016
El Cajon, California

Terence Crutcher
1976 – September 16, 2016
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Terrence LeDell Sterling
1985 – September 11, 2016
Washington, DC

Korryn Gaines
1993 – August 1, 2016
Randallstown, Maryland

Joseph Curtis Mann
1966 – July 11, 2016
Sacramento, California

Philando Castile
1983 – July 6, 2016
Falcon Heights, Minnesota

Alton Sterling
1979 – July 5, 2016
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Bettie “Betty Boo” Jones
1960 – December 26, 2015
Chicago, Illinois

Quintonio LeGrier
1996- December 26, 2015
Chicago, Illinois

Corey Lamar Jones
1984- October 18, 2015
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Jamar O’Neal Clark
1991 – November 16, 2015
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jeremy “Bam Bam” McDole
1987 – September 23, 2015
Wilmington, Delaware

India Kager
1988 – September 5, 2015
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Samuel Vincent DuBose
1972 – July 19, 2015
Cincinnati, Ohio

Sandra Bland
1987 – July 13, 2015
Waller County, Texas

Brendon K. Glenn
1986 – May 5, 2015
Venice, California

Freddie Carlos Gray Jr.
1989 – April 19, 2015
Baltimore, Maryland

Walter Lamar Scott
1965 – April 4, 2015
North Charleston, South Carolina

Eric Courtney Harris
1971 – April 2, 2015
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Phillip Gregory White
1982 – March 31, 2015
Vineland, New Jersey

Mya Shawatza Hall
1987 – March 30, 2015
Fort Meade, Maryland

Meagan Hockaday
1988 – March 28, 2015
Oxnard, California

Tony Terrell Robinson, Jr.
1995 – March 6, 2015
Madison, Wisconsin

Janisha Fonville
1994 – February 18, 2015
Charlotte, North Carolina

Natasha McKenna
1978 – February 8, 2015
Fairfax County, Virginia

Jerame C. Reid
1978 – December 30, 2014
Bridgeton, New Jersey

Rumain Brisbon
1980 – December 2, 2014
Phoenix, Arizona

Tamir Rice
2002 – November 22, 2014
Cleveland, Ohio

Akai Kareem Gurley
1986 – November 20, 2014
Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Tanisha N. Anderson
1977 – November 13, 2014
Cleveland, Ohio

Dante Parker
1977 – August 12, 2014
Victorville, California

Ezell Ford
1988 – August 11, 2014
Florence, Los Angeles, California

Michael Brown Jr.
1996 – August 9, 2014
Ferguson, Missouri

John Crawford III
1992 – August 5, 2014
Beavercreek, Ohio

Tyree Woodson
1976 – August 2, 2014
Baltimore, Maryland

Eric Garner
1970 – July 17, 2014
Staten Island, New York

Dontre Hamilton
1983 – April 30, 2014
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Victor White III
1991 – March 3, 2014
New Iberia, Louisiana

Gabriella Monique Nevarez
1991 – March 2, 2014
Citrus Heights, California

Yvette Smith
1966 – February 16, 2014
Bastrop County, Texas

McKenzie J. Cochran
1988 – January 29, 2014
Southfield, Michigan

Jordan Baker
1988 – January 16, 2014
Houston, Texas

Andy Lopez
2000 – October 22, 2013
Santa Rosa, California

Miriam Iris Carey
1979 – October 3, 2013
Washington, DC

Barrington “BJ” Williams
1988 – September 17, 2013
New York City, New York

Jonathan Ferrell
1989 – September 14, 2013
Charlotte, North Carolina

Carlos Alcis
1970 – August 15, 2013
Brooklyn, New York City

Larry Eugene Jackson Jr.
1980 – July 26, 2013
Austin, Texas

Kyam Livingston
1975 – July 21, 2013
New York City, New York

Clinton R. Allen
1987 – March 10, 2013
Dallas, Texas

Kimani “KiKi” Gray
1996 – March 9, 2013
Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Kayla Moore
1971 – February 13, 2013
Berkeley, California

Jamaal Moore Sr.
1989 – December 15, 2012
Chicago, Illinois

Johnnie Kamahi Warren
1968 – February 13, 2012
Dothan, Alabama

Shelly Marie Frey
1985 – December 6, 2012
Houston, Texas

Darnisha Diana Harris
1996 – December 2, 2012
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Timothy Russell
1968 – November 29, 2012
Cleveland, Ohio

Malissa Williams
1982 – November 29, 2012
Cleveland, Ohio

Noel Palanco
1989 – October 4, 2012
Queens, New York City, New York

Reynaldo Cuevas
1992 – September 7, 2012
Bronx, New York City, New York

Chavis Carter
1991 – July 28, 2012
Jonesboro, Arkansas

Alesia Thomas
1977 – July 22, 2012
Los Angeles, California

Shantel Davis
1989 – June 14, 2012
New York City, New York

Sharmel T. Edwards
1962 – April 21, 2012
Las Vegas, Nevada

Tamon Robinson
1985 – April 18, 2012
Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Ervin Lee Jefferson, III
1994 – March 24, 2012
Atlanta, Georgia

Kendrec McDade
1992 – March 24, 2012
Pasadena, California

Rekia Boyd
1989 – March 21, 2012
Chicago, Illinois

Shereese Francis
1982 – March 15, 2012
Queens, New York City, New York

Jersey K. Green
1974 – March 12, 2012
Aurora, Illinois

Wendell James Allen
1991 – March 7, 2012
New Orleans, Louisiana

Nehemiah Lazar Dillard
1982 – March 5, 2012
Gainesville, Florida

Dante’ Lamar Price
1986 – March 1, 2012
Dayton, Ohio

Raymond Luther Allen Jr.
1978- February 29, 2012
Galveston, Texas

Manual Levi Loggins Jr.
1980 – February 7, 2012
San Clemente, Orange County, California

Ramarley Graham
1993 – February 2, 2012
The Bronx, New York City, New York

Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
1943 – November 19, 2011
White Plains, New York

Alonzo Ashley
1982- July 18, 2011
Denver, Colorado

Derek Williams
1989 – July 6, 2011
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Raheim Brown, Jr.
March 4,1990 – January 22, 2011
Oakland, California

Reginald Doucet
1985 – January 14, 2011
Los Angeles, California

Derrick Jones
1973 – November 8, 2010
Oakland, California

Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr.
1990 – October 17, 2010
Pleasantville, New York

Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones
2002 – May 16, 2010
Detroit, Michigan

Steven Eugene Washington
1982 – March 20, 2010
Los Angeles, California

Aaron Campbell
1984 – January 29, 2010
Portland, Oregon

The information collected was compiled by Renee Ater from AN ongoing blog post titled in memoriam: I Can’t Breathe. Visit www.reneeater.com/ for more information.

Essay and typeset made by be oakley of GenderFail.. This font is open source and is available for download on genderfailpress.com. In its use remember these names…