Liberty’s Legacy, by Hoda Amer
The Statue of Liberty is celebrated in the US as an icon of freedom and independence. The original design of the Statue of Liberty, by French sculptor Augustus Bartholdi, held broken chains in her hand as a symbol of freedom from slavery. Racial segregation still exists today in a modern form. The mass incarcerations and targeting of people of color are an example of this.
In this drawing, her hair is made of figures intertwined with symbols of the many faiths and backgrounds that make the fabric of the US and its long history of welcoming immigrants. The concrete blocks in front of her face, as she grimaces slightly, are symbolic of the thousands of jails built with concrete and barbed wire. The US has the highest number of incarcerated women worldwide, the majority of which are women of color or of indigenous background. The majority of those women are mothers to minors. In recent months, these numbers have increased as families are arrested and incarcerated by immigration agents, without due process or justice.
