From Galveston to the Gala: SF Bay View Unveils a Juneteenth Fashion Manifesto by Prison Artist C‑Note
Juneteenth and Fashionable by Prison Artist C-Note
Fashion line "Mercy" by Designer MaKenzie Stiles featuring works by C-Note
Silicon Valley billboard art exhibition featuring C-Note's "Colored Girl Warholed," curated by Fine Art & Real Estate Broker Anna D. Smith
Juneteenth and Fashionable tote bag
Juneteenth and Fashionable women's teeshirt
Wearable Liberation Meets the Met Gala’s “Tailoring Black Style” Spotlight—A Bay‑Area Exclusive
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, May 23, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper has published “Juneteenth and Fashionable: A Vision of Liberation Worn Out Loud,” a feature by sports‑culture journalist Jessica “Noonie” Noble that debuts incarcerated artist Donald “C‑Note” Hooker’s latest digital artwork and apparel line. The unveiling lands just weeks after the 2025 Met Gala celebrated Black dandyism under the theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”—underscoring how freedom struggles and high fashion now share the same global runway. “C‑Note turns emancipation into everyday couture,” Noble writes, “proving a T‑shirt can carry the weight of 160 years of delayed freedom while still looking fearless.”A FUSION OF ART, FASHION, AND HERITAGE
Juneteenth and Fashionable transforms the Pan‑African palette and raised‑fist imagery into a graphic that works as a poster, billboard, or wardrobe staple. The design builds on C‑Note’s earlier works—from the billboard piece “Colored Girl Warholed” to his runway collaboration with designer Makenzie Stiles—each framing liberation through style.
WHY THIS STORY MATTERS
Juneteenth: The art arrives in time for communities planning 2025 holiday events and curricula.
Black Culture: Published by a 47‑year‑old Black‑owned newspaper that mails thousands of free copies to incarcerated readers, the piece amplifies voices often left outside the fashion conversation.
Fashion: By linking to the Met Gala’s tailoring theme, the article shows that the year’s most talked‑about red carpet and a prison‑born artwork share a single thread: clothing as archive and activism.
Art: C‑Note’s practice demonstrates how limitation—tracing, repurposing, hand‑lettering—can innovate digital aesthetics even behind the wall.
Read, view, shop
Full article in SF Bay View → https://sfbayview.com/2025/05/juneteenth-and-fashionable-a-vision-of-liberation-worn-out-loud/
Juneteenth Today home page → https://juneteenth.today
Juneteenth and Fashionable brand collection → https://juneteenth.today/brand/juneteenth-and-fashionable/
“These pages prove liberation sells—but only when it also serves,” says Anna D. Smith, art advisor to C‑Note and founder to Anna D. Smith Fine Art. “Every purchase funds the storytelling that textbooks still omit.”
Makenzie Stiles adds, “The Met asked us to rethink tailoring; C‑Note shows us how to tailor futures.”
About San Francisco Bay View
Founded in 1976, SF Bay View is a monthly, Black‑owned newspaper and online platform devoted to abolition‑centered news, culture, and commentary. It distributes 20,000 print copies throughout the Bay Area and mails complimentary subscriptions to thousands of incarcerated readers nationwide.
About Juneteenth Today
Juneteenth Today is a year‑round digital hub that syndicates daily Juneteenth news, event listings, and original articles while curating merchandise that keeps the holiday’s story alive beyond June 19.
About Donald “C‑Note” Hooker
Dubbed “the King of Prison Hip Hop,” Los Angeles–born C‑Note is a multidisciplinary artist whose 400‑plus works—spanning murals, poetry, billboards, and fashion collaborations—interrogate freedom, identity, and resistance from inside California’s prison system.
About Artist Social Network
Artist Social Network is a digital platform dedicated to supporting independent artists through marketing, exposure, and community-driven initiatives. With a diverse network of creative and cultural publications, we amplify artistic voices and foster meaningful connections in the industry.
Clyde Daniels
Artist Social Network
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