Postcard, 2022

In 2021, the V&A Wedgwood Collection embarked on an Art Fund supported research project to explore the complex history of Wedgwood’s anti-slavery medallion in the context of contemporary anti-racist activism.

First produced in 1787, the historic medallion took its design from the seal for the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, showing a kneeling Black man in chains asking, 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?'. As a forerunner to the protest badge, Wedgwood freely distributed these medallions to raise awareness of the cause for abolition in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Following a week-long workshop led by Grace Barrett, founder of the anti-racism teacher training programme I AM ALLY, and Georgia Haseldine of the V&A Research Institute, students from the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College critically engaged with Josiah Wedgwood’s abolitionist activities and re-imagined a new medallion for the 21st century.

Produced as jasper medallions by the Wedgwood factory, the final design by Amy Sproston shows a fist motif clutching an olive branch, a recognisable symbol of protest and peace, emerging out of the iconic Stoke-on-Trent bottle kilns. The text ‘I Am a Man and a Brother’ plays with the wording from the original 1787 medallion, making it an empowering statement rather than a question. Much like the widespread distribution of historic abolitionist imagery, the contemporary design also features on badges, prints and postcards to disseminate this important image of ally-ship.

Postcard featuring an image of a raised black fist clutching an olive branch in front of a sun, with shapes of bottle kilns and smoke in the foreground, typography reads: 'I AM A MAN / AND A BROTHER.'