Pendant
The 'Free Zulu' pendant was exhibited in the V&A Disobedient Objects exhibition in 2014. It is jewellery symbolic of a cause. It represents one man's suffering but at the same time powerfully addresses universal issues of justice, human rights and racial equality.
It was designed by Kenny Zulu Whitmore, a prisoner in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, as a symbol of his struggle for freedom and as a means to raise funds towards his legal appeal. It is one of an unknown number made by inmates who had access to the prison's workshop, unlike Mr Whitmore who suffered long periods in solitary confinement.
The pendant comes with a letter from Mr Whitmore. According to his own account, he was arrested in 1975 at the age of twenty and wrongfully found guilty of two armed robberies and one murder, resulting in a life sentence plus two hundred and twenty five years of hard labour. By 2014, at the time of the exhibition, he had served 39 years. Thirty five of these had been passed in solitary confinement, due, he explains, to his political affiliation with the Black Panther party.
It was designed by Kenny Zulu Whitmore, a prisoner in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, as a symbol of his struggle for freedom and as a means to raise funds towards his legal appeal. It is one of an unknown number made by inmates who had access to the prison's workshop, unlike Mr Whitmore who suffered long periods in solitary confinement.
The pendant comes with a letter from Mr Whitmore. According to his own account, he was arrested in 1975 at the age of twenty and wrongfully found guilty of two armed robberies and one murder, resulting in a life sentence plus two hundred and twenty five years of hard labour. By 2014, at the time of the exhibition, he had served 39 years. Thirty five of these had been passed in solitary confinement, due, he explains, to his political affiliation with the Black Panther party.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Brief description | ‘Free Zulu’ pendant of stainless steel; designed by Kenny Zulu Whitmore and made in Louisiana State Penitentiary, USA, 2014. |
| Credit line | Given by Catherine Flood |
| Summary | The 'Free Zulu' pendant was exhibited in the V&A Disobedient Objects exhibition in 2014. It is jewellery symbolic of a cause. It represents one man's suffering but at the same time powerfully addresses universal issues of justice, human rights and racial equality. It was designed by Kenny Zulu Whitmore, a prisoner in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, as a symbol of his struggle for freedom and as a means to raise funds towards his legal appeal. It is one of an unknown number made by inmates who had access to the prison's workshop, unlike Mr Whitmore who suffered long periods in solitary confinement. The pendant comes with a letter from Mr Whitmore. According to his own account, he was arrested in 1975 at the age of twenty and wrongfully found guilty of two armed robberies and one murder, resulting in a life sentence plus two hundred and twenty five years of hard labour. By 2014, at the time of the exhibition, he had served 39 years. Thirty five of these had been passed in solitary confinement, due, he explains, to his political affiliation with the Black Panther party. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.3:1 to 3-2018 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2016 |
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