{"id":19481,"date":"2020-09-09T16:10:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T20:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/?p=19481"},"modified":"2020-09-09T16:10:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T20:10:03","slug":"the-statue-of-liberty-the-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/infovis\/visualization\/the-statue-of-liberty-the-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The statue of liberty: The History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo:@_Mikey_Cee Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WHAT ARE THE POLITICS OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to interrogate the remnants of history in order to gain more understanding of the social architecture we currently live in and amongst. The time has finally come where we can celebrate the dismantling of racist monuments but it\u2019s also critical to acknowledge the importance of dismantling the internalized monuments within. The Statue of Liberty is the 49th tallest statue in the world, standing at a modest 305 ft tall, perched in the middle of the Upper New York Bay. Lady liberty is a major attraction bringing in millions of dollars each year but what\u2019s its history? Maybe a better question to ask is, what is its politics?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1804 Haiti defeated France and was able to free all enslaved Africans from the brutality of slavery under french colonial rule. In order for Haiti to be recognized by France and other colonizers they were forced to pay $21 billion in reparations for the loss of property. While, today we think of property as material goods then we know enslaved Black people were also considered property. In 1875 France and the United States started building the Statue of Liberty which cost over $5 million. There were protests by suffragists who thought the statue was a slap in the face, a female statue that represents liberty was asinine to them because women were still not permitted to vote. By 1947 Haiti was only able to pay back the interest of the debt owed to France which some Haitians refer to as the ransom. In 2018 it was reported that the Statue of Liberty had over 4.5 million visitors which brought in over $200 million. Haiti has a rich cultural heritage along with beautiful people but unfortunately it has not been able to recover from this ransom that was forced upon them as punishment for their liberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visualizations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m informed by bad historical visualizations and insightful social media posts.\u00a0 Cartography is really interesting to me primarily because of how long it has been around for. There is also an extensive library to inspire and inform all of your different project needs which is why I typically start here. I particularly enjoy looking at the misrepresentation of Africa on maps because it\u2019s a reminder that artifacts are not neutral and are filled with bias. What happens when you intentionally minimize or maximize metrics to fit your own personal agenda? Creating a map which depicts Africa at a reduced size purposefully tries to lessen the importance, value and contributions of the continent and its people. This specific visualization is great because it really puts things into perspective for its audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jeff Dejardins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Social media has so many different types of data visualizations that tend to operate outside the margins of academia. It moves away from traditional graphs and charts towards a more humanistic approach of archival visualizations. Looking at my timeline of posts from last year to the present is really eye opening. I could see a major shift from materialism to humanism where people started understanding the need of collaboration with each other and their environment. The image taken of the French President and two men during his visit to St. Martin, in which he\u2019s quoted as telling the men, \u2018No more robbing\u2019 is incredible. The juxtaposition of a wealthy white man from France reprimanding Black men from a french territory about theft is a snapshot at how deeply distorted and flawed our system is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MATERIALS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n