Let’s Vote

2014, wood, PVC panel and custom electronics, 17 X 17 X 3 in. (each box)

“Let’s Vote,” 2014, by Keith Francis. This mixed-media installation (two 17 x 17 x 3 in. boxes) visualizes the systemic bias of Jim Crow-era literacy tests. The left panel, for "White Applicants," shows a round wooden peg successfully inserted into a round hole, illuminated by a green light. The right panel, for "Colored Applicants," shows a square wooden peg positioned in front of an identical round hole—a mechanical impossibility—illuminated by a red light. The work highlights the arbitrary and insurmountable barriers designed to disenfranchise Black voters. The piece was commissioned for an exhibition at Delaware State University to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement. It uses the "square peg in a round hole" metaphor to demonstrate the nonsensical and discriminatory nature of historical voting tests, such as those that asked Black applicants impossible questions to ensure their failure.
“Let’s Vote,” 2014, by Keith Francis. This mixed-media installation (two 17 x 17 x 3 in. boxes) visualizes the systemic bias of Jim Crow-era literacy tests. The left panel, for "White Applicants," shows a round wooden peg successfully inserted into a round hole, illuminated by a green light. The right panel, for "Colored Applicants," shows a square wooden peg positioned in front of an identical round hole—a mechanical impossibility—illuminated by a red light. The work highlights the arbitrary and insurmountable barriers designed to disenfranchise Black voters. The piece was commissioned for an exhibition at Delaware State University to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement. It uses the "square peg in a round hole" metaphor to demonstrate the nonsensical and discriminatory nature of historical voting tests, such as those that asked Black applicants impossible questions to ensure their failure.
“Let’s Vote,” 2014, by Keith Francis. This mixed-media installation (two 17 x 17 x 3 in. boxes) visualizes the systemic bias of Jim Crow-era literacy tests. The left panel, for "White Applicants," shows a round wooden peg successfully inserted into a round hole, illuminated by a green light. The right panel, for "Colored Applicants," shows a square wooden peg positioned in front of an identical round hole—a mechanical impossibility—illuminated by a red light. The work highlights the arbitrary and insurmountable barriers designed to disenfranchise Black voters. The piece was commissioned for an exhibition at Delaware State University to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement. It uses the "square peg in a round hole" metaphor to demonstrate the nonsensical and discriminatory nature of historical voting tests, such as those that asked Black applicants impossible questions to ensure their failure.

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