Fashioning Communities Rooted in Access to Free Knowledge
We Wear The Word is a wearable knowledge project that merges sustainable fashion, digital access, and educational equity to create a walking museum of banned and contested narratives. Grounded in research on public policy, information access, and social justice, our project highlights how legislative efforts to suppress knowledge disproportionately affect marginalized communities. This intersectional approach to civic engagement makes visible the power of individual choice, collective memory, and community-driven learning. Ultimately, We Wear The Word transforms everyday clothing into a platform for activism, historical reclamation, and public discourse.
Art by Camil Williams
By screenprinting recycled T-shirts with QR codes that link to expert-driven and community microcontent—ranging from banned books to erased histories, our initiative confronts censorship while promoting intellectual freedom.
Through geo-mapping data, We Wear The Word also tracks how and where these stories are being worn and read, offering insights into patterns of resistance, readership, and cultural curiosity.
Based on your location, uncover a part of Bayard Rustin, the quiet force whose courage reshaped America’s fight for freedom.
Read more about Bayard Rustin's impact through the Bayard Rustin Society's quarterly newsletter.
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