Sadie Barnette maybe can’t spin straw into gold, be she did turn the documents the FBI had on her Black Panther dad into a rhinestone-clad work of art. It’s called ‘Do Not Destroy’. Talk about reclaiming identity.
Her father was Rodney Barnette, a Black Panther and community advocate. After returning from the Vietnam War he was shocked with the injustice in his community and became an outspoken labor organizer. The FBI wasn’t happy about that and they monitored his every move. They stalked everyone he was affiliated with, gaslighted him, and forced him out of his job.
The FBI file ran to over 500 pages, and Barnette took the words and made her own story. She highlighted parts that spoke to her, graffitti’d some pink, and blacked-out others, and – of course – added rhinestones.
“It’s really a chance to reclaim the narrative and paint a more real picture of my father,” Sadie told Upworthy. “[The rhinestones were] an act of love and an act of trying to to heal this really intense and violent surveillance that people were going through and also to memorialize some of the people who lost their lives during that time.”
What speaks to us is her power and clarity in the work, knowing that she’s reclaiming her family history. Her chosen medium – visual art – paints a resistance that inspires others and helps us all rise up.
If you liked Barnette’s work, you may also like Jane Kim’s Turf Wars.
Feature image by Cole Sansome / Haverford
