May 5, 2012
Steve Lambert
“Defeat the Ghosts” consists of two letterpress poster campaigns that seem to have appeared from the 1960s but address issues relevant to today. The project re-connects Alabama’s civil rights history to present day immigration issues. The project is very specific to Alabama; its history and present day politics.
Alabama has a deep and vital history in the Civil Rights movement. While the struggle for civil rights is ongoing, in many ways the idea of civil rights has culturally receded. Seen through the lens of mainstream culture, the fight for civil rights in the 1960’s is often portrayed as though it was simply history and is not currently relevant. This is not the case. Civil rights is a contemporary issue. In 2011, Alabama adopted HB 56, one of nation’s strictest anti-illegal immigration laws.
There are many events that are significant to Alabama’s civil rights struggles, yet Alabama voters do not seem to connect the dots to today’s struggle over immigrants’ rights. In our collective effort to put the shameful parts of our past behind us, we are also losing some of the lessons.
The poster, “Re-elect Bull Connor’s Ghost” communicates the idea that if Bull Connor were alive today, he would be on the side of politicians that have pushed retrograde laws like HB56. The project also highlights the legacy of anti-integration politics and its connection to today’s anti-immigration policies.
The “Defeat the Ghosts” poster is the more hopeful of the pair, addressing the legacy of racism that continues to haunt Alabama. The main message is that we must “defeat the ghosts” and overcome fear and illusions. It also illustrates the concept that the dead ideas of the past continue to prevent Alabama, and society as a whole, from moving forward.
The prints were put up simultaneously around Birmingham, Alabama, just prior to the Fall 2012 election.
