We have been bombarded by images of the US secretary of state as the great diplomat, walking onto the tarmac of a foreign country as if she were a...
more We have been bombarded by images of the US secretary of state as the great diplomat, walking onto the tarmac of a foreign country as if she were a rock star, an intellectual giant, and the embodiment of the American dream all rolled into one. Meanwhile, she has spoken out against affirmative action, lied to the 9/11 Commission, defended a disastrous war in Iraq, and been the mouthpiece for an administration at its most shameful moments. Who is she, and why does she hold such a special place in the national imagination? How does the Right use her to front racist and sexist policies in the United States and abroad? Why does the Left repress criticisms and thorough evaluations of one of the most influential people in Washington? Here is a compendium of think pieces, visual art, and imaginative works inspired by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, including works from Amiri Baraka, Kate Bornstein, Sue Coe, Wanda Coleman, Hattie Gossett, Gary Indiana, Jill Nelson, Faith Ringgold, Paul Robeson, Jr., Sapphire, Carolee Schneemann, DJ Spooky, Astra Taylor, and Kara Walker. Amy Scholder has edited Lust for Life: On the Writings of Kathy Acker (with Carla Harryman and Avital Ronell), In the Shadow of the American Dream: The Diaries of David Wojnarowicz, Bodies of Work, and many other books. The editor in chief of Seven Stories Press, she lives in New York and Los Angeles.
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