Reimagining an antiracist graphic design history: a model for a plural pedagogy

This article calls for a reexamination of graphic design history and pedagogy as a form of antiracist action in response to the events of 2020. The horrific deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd gripped America, drawing widespread outrage throughout 2020 amid a pandemic. It was an all too familiar tale of police brutality against Black Americans that incited national furor and once again thrust antiracist discourse into mainstream consciousness. Set against the backdrop of a polarizing presidency that normalized an autocratic culture and enabled far right extremism, many Americans acknowledged a system that enabled unfair and unjust treatment of certain classes. An antiracist consciousness urges us to actively fight against and reconsider systems that not only defy equality, but perpetuate inequality. As diversity, equity, and inclusive efforts transform America’s institutional structures including workplaces and academia, educator’s should draw on their innate desire for inquiry and acknowledge their position of influence. Educators reside at the cross-hairs of opportunity: we can enact change through revised narratives and the mechanism through which those narratives are delivered. Antiracist activist Ibram X. Kendi calls this narrative-change initiatives. While the dominant elite notion of Western graphic design history faces criticism as a narrative needing less prejudice by US-based educators, practitioners, and university students alike, educators can recenter the commonly taught narrative of graphic design around voices that actually reflect the diversity in the classroom. This article outlines a method for incorporating plurality into design history education to cultivate inclusivity and reverse systematic prejudice.