Photo By Gail

An expression of artist Dindga McCannon’s love for Black American women, Revolutionary Sister (1971) was a response to the absence of depictions of women fighting for Black empowerment in the 1960s and 1970s.

The figure’s crown, formed with recycled miniature flag poles, recalls the Statue of Liberty and questions what symbols of freedom mean to marginalized communities. Her stare and commanding stance establish the figure as a representative of a hard-fought freedom. Using a pallet of red, black, and green – colors associated with the Black liberation movement – McCannon asserts a new vision of liberty.

Photographed in The Brooklyn Museum