Modern Black Superhero- Reaction Paper

Rosanny Lora

The New Jim Crow

25 Jan 2017

Prof. Young

Modern Black Superhero Poster: Reaction Paper 

     I was looking through the collection of this year's FDU Black History Month posters and I let out a small shriek when I saw Laverne Cox's name on one of them. I clicked on the poster to get a better look and I discovered that there was a scenario depicting a child getting harassed by a group of peers that surrounded them. The scene reminded me of the Sophia Burset, the fictional character that Laverne Cox plays in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. In the show Sophia was brought to the breaking point many times when she was belittled and dehumanized by both her peers and superiors because of her often misunderstood gender identity, somewhat like the child in the scene in the top right corner might be experiencing. Another thing I picked up on were the colors used in the piece. More often then not colors used in pieces like these have some obvious or hidden symbolism attached to them. When I looked at the colors of the letters above Laverne and the color of the dress she wore I thought that the red could represent her fiery personality and her unwavering determination to fight for the equality of members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the people who identify as transgender. In addition, a close friend of mine pointed out that the blue, white and pink colors in the background are actually the colors that make up the transgender flag. This is another element that the creator of this poster adeptly used to make this all one cohesive piece of artwork. 

     Laverne Cox has worked for many years to hone her craft and to use it to spread the word about the hardships that transgender people like herself are experiencing day to day not only in America, but all over the world. I chose to write about her because I've always been so inspired by how she uses her status and position as an actress to advocate for those who's mouths have been forcibly silenced by the fear--fear of many things, but above all the fear of being alienated or harmed. This Black Heroin is portrayed in an assertive stance with her fist ready ready for what's coming her way. She will not back down and neither will her army because the struggle still continues!