Placard worn during the Millions March NYC protest on December 13, 2014: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A white placard with a gray ribbon attached to the top, worn by Laini Madhubuti during a December 13, 2014 protest march organized by Millions March NYC in New York City. Centered on the front of the placard is handwritten text in black ink, red ink, and graphite that reads, [Your / fear / does not / define me. / and it damn sure / shouldn’t KILL me!], with the word [KILL] underlined. Centered on the back of the placard is handwritten text in black ink that reads [Fear of / BLACKNESS / IS NOT / SELF- / DEFENSE!], with the word [NOT] underlined. The gray ribbon has been threaded through holes punched in the top corners of the placard and knotted in place. The ribbon is also knotted at the top.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2014
• Created by: Laini Madhubuti, American
• Subject of: Millions March NYC, American, founded 2014
• Type: placards (information artifacts)
• Medium: ink and graphite on Fome-Cor (TM) with ribbon
• Dimensions: H x W x D (with ribbon): 36 1/8 × 20 1/16 × 3/16 in. (91.8 × 50.9 × 0.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (without ribbon): 30 1/8 × 20 1/16 × 3/16 in. (76.5 × 50.9 × 0.5 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Race relations
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: Social reform
• Topic: U.S. History, 2001-
• Object number: 2015.217.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mariama Richards
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.