After the retailer rolls out an offensive Voudou-themed Halloween display, Shantrelle Lewis offers a lesson in the African spiritual tradition in this article for Ebony. See a link to her blog, which we highly recommend, below. Our thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.
In 2013, at a time when nearly every aspect of Black life and culture can be bought, repackaged, gentrified and re-sold to the highest bidder, it is still both shocking and appalling to see a makeshift Vodou altar adorning the window of a Manhattan American Apparel location. Recently, my friend Rosella Molina, a Yoruba initiate, saw just that: a larger than life vevé for Papa Legba, a spirit respected as the Keeper of the Crossroads and found throughout the Americas, and three mannequins dressed in a hodgepodge of apparel designed by social media icon/artist Kesh, mixed together with an assortment of pieces…
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Jesika Smith 