Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster

Dr. Zuberi is the curator of exhibitions.  He curated Tides of Freedom: African Presence on the Delaware at the Independence Seaport Museum (Premiered in May 2013).  Using four key moments in Philadelphia’s history representing the themes of Enslavement, Emancipation, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights, Tides of Freedom urges visitors both to bear witness to a story central to Philadelphia and American history, and to think about the meaning of “freedom” both historically and in today’s world.  His exhibition, Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster premiered at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in June 2013. Black Bodies in Propaganda presents 33 posters from Dr. Zuberi’s private collection; most of these posters target Africans and African-American civilians, in times of war. These carefully designed works of art were aimed at mobilizing people of color in war efforts, even as they faced oppression and injustice in their homelands. The posters reveal changing messages on race and politics through propaganda from the American Civil War to the African Independence movement in this innovative, world-premiere exhibition.

In recognition of the need to preserve African census data in order to avoid perpetual loss due to poor storage and also the need to encourage and enhance further analysis, dissemination, and utilization of the massive census data, the African Census Analysis Project (ACAP) was undertaken as a joint initiative of the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania and African research and governmental institutions. This was to allow for collaboration with various African governments and research institutions at archiving and analyzing African census data, both at national and sub-national levels, in order to inform appropriate policy interventions on the continent.