nicolasphebus:

About the clenched-fist and cultural appropriation

I’ve seen a number of posts lately on tumblr –and other social media– about the clenched-fist and cultural appropriation. More specifically, it seems a number of African-American activists wants to claim the clenched-fist for themselves. They say the fist alone is a symbol of black power while the fist in a venus symbol is symbol of black feminism. They condemn the use of these symbols by white activists as cultural appropriation. A lot of well-meaning folks are sharing these articles.

Cultural appropriation is a real thing and I think people should be aware that for some people it can be a real problem especially if unacknowledged. However, the use of the clenched-fist by white leftists is not a case of cultural appropriation at all.

Did you ever heard of the Roter Frontkämpfer Bund? It was the German communist party mass paramilitary organisation during the Weimar republic. It was a working class organisation made up of former soldiers whose aim was to defend the communist meetings, strikes and communists stronghold against rightwing militias such as the infamous nazi brown shirts, the SA. It was formed in 1926 and was disbanded in 1929.

In order to fight back against the nazis, the communists developed a number of counter symbolism among wich the bolchevik inspired uniform and the clenched-fist (wich they even trademarked as early as March 1st 1926) where central. It was a way to show communist strength in opposition to the nazis. They are the one who introduced the symbolism of the clenched-fist in the international left. From Germany, it moved to France and Spain in the 1930’s as a symbol of the popular front.

Now, who introduced the clenched-fist in the black liberation movement? It was the Black Panther Party for self-defense. The BPP was specifically a communist and internationalist group and the used of the clenched-fist was a way to specifically link the movement to the international left. The president of the party, Bobby Seal, make no mystery that the founders of the Panthers used symbols of the French resistance –the berets– for their uniforms. He never claimed to have invented anything, he felt he was part of a larger international revolutionary movement and felt as untitled as anyone else to use it’s symbols (and make no mistake, he was!)

About the pictures. On top is the copyrighted clenched-fist of the Roter Frontkämpfer Bund. On the right are pictures of the Roter Frontkämpfer Bund in the 1920’s, while on the left are pictures of the Black Panther Party in the 1960’s.