Educating through Black History Month

Human Rights Center ICAAD Features Digital Legal Poetry Exhibit for Black History Month

This Black History Month, international human rights center ICAAD invites you to explore the history of racial justice in the courts through their immersive virtual exhibit, Dicta. The exhibit features the Dicta legal poetry series by Harbani Ahuja and melds poetry, law, and art to inspire activism in pursuit of social justice.

Landmark Supreme Court cases including Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia are exhibited in the form of found poetry, illuminating the theme of racial justice from the black letter text. Of Harbani’s 40-poem series, ten poems make up the Rights of Black People theme featured this month. The Rights of Black People series was also published in the ABA Journal in 2021.

Dicta is part of ICAAD's embrace of Artivism as a means of driving social justice at local, regional, and global levels. Artivism, a marriage of artistic expression with activism, often taps into a depth of emotion deeper than words can express and connects across physical and cultural boundaries. The exhibit has garnered sponsorships from Clifford Chance; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; and Graymatters; and the virtual exhibit has been developed in partnership with digital creative agency, y’all.

Partner at y’all, David Lubofsky said, “At y’all, we recognize that art is a force that drives discourse, dialogue, and change for the better. We had the honor and the privilege to lend our design and development talents in partnership with ICAAD to bring Harbani Ahuja’s poetic works to life.”

"In our human rights work around the world, we have seen how art can inspire positive action," said Jaspreet Singh, co-founder of ICAAD. "We hope that Dicta and our future Artivism projects will inspire others to join efforts to tackle discriminatory issues and promote equality."

At the heart of Dicta is public interest lawyer and poet, Harbani Ahuja, who is currently Senior Legislative Council for the NY City Council and ICAAD's inaugural Artivist in Residence. As a writer, designer, and advocate, Harbani has focused her law practice on civil rights, immigrant rights, and public health.

"We as a people often view the law as a larger-than-life concept that we don't understand or find accessible, yet is widely considered the equivalent of justice," said Harbani Kaur, ICAAD's Artist in Residence. "My intention for Dicta is to expose the gap between the law and justice."

“What I love about Dicta is that I believe it’s an invitation to interrogate things that we sometimes take for granted,” said Zuleka Henderson, ICAAD Advisor. “We are creative beings. If people originally created these laws for purposes that are unjust, what can we reimagine for the future? That’s what Harbani’s work does. It encourages us to remember that we can shift things, move them around, and read into what’s underneath something that was presented to us in one way.”

Sixteen poems are currently on display in Clifford Chance’s New York office as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to supporting human rights efforts, arts, and the community. Clifford Chance also produced an interview with artist Harbani Kaur Ahuja which can be viewed here.

"We believe Dicta can educate and inspire people everywhere to better understand the timeless and ceaseless struggle for human rights and the importance of finding ways to stay engaged," said Hansdeep Singh, co-founder of ICAAD.

Clifford Chance partner and lead on the firm’s relationship with ICAAD Celeste Koeleveld said, “Our sponsorship on Dicta is the latest in a variety of pro bono initiatives in which Clifford Chance has supported ICAAD. We are proud to promote legal activism and heighten awareness of human rights efforts and social justice with this exhibit.”