Yolanda M. Lopez

Yolanda Lopez's Free Los Siete (1969) really stood out to me. I think it was the manner in which the six Latino youths stared at me, they were static and completely serious. They were letting the viewer know that they were wrongfully behind bars, and that they did not deserve to be incarcerated. I felt that she communicated so much with this poster. She used the stripes of the American flag as imprisonment bars and omitted words from the Pledge of Allegiance to further make her point that there is a complete and unequal justice system that oppresses communities of color. She took the flag and pledge that promises liberty and justice and gave it an entirely different meaning.

This poster, along with various of her other political artworks, demonstrates Lopez's commitment to social justice. She did not shy away from her message, it was loud and clear. There needs to be change. Colored people and White Americans should not receive different treatment simply for having two different skin colors. And there should not be empty promises such as liberty and justice for all, when clearly not all have the same right to freedom as others. She is standing against the failure of the justice system to keep communities safe.