ETERNALSOLDIER
Fighting for Freedom
in an Era of Race and Colonialism
“The Great Lenin Illuminated our Path” (Translated from Russian), Russia, ca. 1930s. The Cold War Soviet government supported freedom fighters in Africa and activists in the United States
ETERNAL SOLDIER is a partner in the Penn Museum exhibition "Fighting for Freedom in an Era of Race and Colonialism." Curated by Tukufu Zuberi PhD, Curator of the Penn Museum’s Africa Galleries, Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, and Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Penn, and funded by the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation at Penn, the exhibition invites reflection on art, race and civic responsibility from multiple perspectives.
VETERAN VOICES NEEDED!
ETERNAL SOLDIER worked with (6) Veterans of color in August 2026 providing Veteran-centered insight for this unique exhibition opening Summer 2027. Most activities were virtual. However, there was one (1) in person workshop at Penn Museum.
This project centers art during wartime through war propaganda posters from American history and global colonial contexts. The project examines how Black people were depicted, recruited and mobilized to fight wars for democracies abroad while they confronted brutal colonialist regimes, inequality and racism at home.
Eternal Soldier promotes Veterans’ stories past and present
and is a partner in the Penn Museum exhibition “Fighting
for Freedom in an Era of Race and Colonialism.”
Keep us Flying, United States, 1943. Known as the Tuskegee Airmen, African American Pilots serving during WWII were seen as a major triumph against discrimination.
Warfighters are often charged with defending heritage and broad political principles. Inclusion of the perspectives of modern Veterans, especially Veterans of color, is an important component of the exhibition. By combining community collaboration with rigorous scholarship and global historical framing, the exhibition will encourage visitors to Penn Museum to connect historical struggles to ongoing questions of citizenship, equity, and civic participation.