On May 31, 2020, residents of 52nd Street, in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Cobbs Creek, were attacked by the Philadelphia Police Department in response to unrest over the murder of George Floyd. Private university police forces from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Drexel University and other organizations also participated in the crackdown. “Testimony: 52nd St. and the Invisible Violence of UPenn” is a short stop-motion animation film, produced by Penn Community for Justice, based on the experience of 52nd St. resident and UPenn employee, Amelia Carter.
Through her testimony, Amelia explores the white supremacy that led to UPenn’s participation in the attack and attempts to disrupt the normalization of everyday acts of institutional violence perpetrated by the university. Through her own self-reflection, Amelia invites the audience to question the societal conditioning that leads to complicity in the face of this violence and imagines a world where community care is prioritized over policing.
My stop-motion time line in Final Cut Pro.
