Today I want to show you a special piece of jewellery. my darlings: The Gem Corps’ Sweet Chairiot, a cleverly designed social justice talisman that has already made a huge impression on the jewelry lovers of Instagram.
Sweet Chairiot can be many things. It is an adorable little folding chair. A piece of jewelry that has been beautifully engineered. Or it can be a stylish addition to your neck stack. This tiny chair represents a lifetime of bravery and perseverance.
As a white woman it is an honor for me to help spread this incredible design. But the story behind Sweet chairiot, is not mine.
The Gem Corps’ husband & wife team, Nia Tahani & Leroy Wilkes III, describe the origin of Sweet Chairiot, in their own words:
When Shirley Chisholm declared, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,” she could not have imagined the iconic symbol the folding chair has become since the August 5, 2023 “Montgomery Brawl,” when Black riverboat co-Captain Damien Pickett was viciously attacked by a group of white boaters resulting in Black bystanders coming to his aid.
Sweet Chairiot is their culturally-informed and antique-inspired jewelry. A modern heirloom the first release in a collection.”
Continuing in the designers’ own words:
The name, SWEET CHAIRIOT, is a play on the associations that were made between the Negro spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” by black Choctaw freedman Wallace Willis, and the symbol that the folding chair has become since Shirley Chisholm’s famous quote and last summer’s “Montgomery Melee.” It has expanded into the realm of social justice memorabilia for those who are saying, “Not on our watch.”
[The folding chair is] a symbol of resistance and remembrance for the black lives – entire communities – lost to senseless racism from the Middle Passage to today.”
– Nia Tahani & Leroy Wilkes III
Available in 14K gold, 18K gold, or sterling silver, with or without a gemstone, Sweet Chairiot comes in two versions: “Rest Mode” and “Resist Mode” (copyright pending). Rest mode is a fully articulated version that can open and close, while Resist is fixed at the closed position.
Each Sweet Chairiot features an eight-pointed “Freedom Star” on its seat, set with an optional diamond in the center, and a Victorian-inspired ancestral hand holding the handle of the backrest. The chair falls into the Resist Mode when worn on a necklace.
The Gem Corps wanted Sweet Chairiot to help the world tangibly as well as symbolically, so they are donating 10% of the design’s pre-launch sales to Alabama Arise, a non-profit that works to “strengthen voting rights, expand health coverage, and advance racial and economic justice across [Alabama],” according to the organization’s founder, Robyn Hyden.
This gorgeous golden chair is an example of the jewelry I love. It’s objectively beautiful, with its tiny legs, its shining diamond, its carefully-sculpted Victorian-inspired hand bale, but this talisman’s appearance is the least important thing about it.
Sweet Chairiot represents everything: years of perseverance; hope and joy following immeasurable pain; the triumph of each generation who never gave up. It is also a promise made to those who are unable to speak for themselves. And it is the hope of a better tomorrow, all forged in a wearable, beautiful moment, fully imagined and created by Black Artists.
If you didn’t catch it, The Gem Corps has said that Sweet Chairiot marks the start of a new collection. So we’ll have to keep an eye out for what’s coming next from them.
If you love Sweet Chairiot but it’s not in your jewelry budget right now – or if you just like cozy clothes with cool designs – you can always rock a Sweet Chairiot hoodie.
The Gem Corps’ website has Sweet Chairiot. To see more of The Gem Corps’ Instagram, click here.
Images c/o Gem Corps.
 |
You can also read about Related Articles