Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Marcus Garvey. To facilitate a return to Africa for African Americans, Garvey founded the Black Star Line. In 1922, he was arrested for mail fraud in connection with the Star Line's sale of stock. The prosecution was thought to have been racially motivated and Garvey was sent to prison and later deported to Jamaica - his country of birth. In 1935 he moved to London where he died on 10 June 1940. His body was returned to Jamaica.
Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Nelson Mandela by Fred Martins. Artist Fred Martins has used the image of the Afro comb to celebrate key African and African-American activists who were jailed fighting for freedom and equality. With a 6,000 year history - the ubiquitous Afro comb - has had global cultural influence. Afro combs date back to ancient Egypt, where a 5,500 year old Ivory Afro comb was excavated from a grave at a cemetery in Abydos, Egypt. Others have been found in the ancient cities of Kemet and Nubt (Naqada), Egypt.
Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Patrice Lumumba. Congo's first democratically elected Prime Minister - Lumumba demanded that Congo should control its own exclusive mineral wealth. Just six months in post - Congolese rivals reportedly supported by Brussels and Washington - placed him under house arrest. Undercover of darkness, he was eventually taken to a forest and shot.
Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Martin Luther King Jr. King was arrested on February 24, 1956 for directing a citywide boycott of segregated buses. In 1963, he was again arrested and jailed protesting the treatment of black people in Birmingham, Alabama. He went onto deliver his famous "I have a dream speech" to more than 250,000 people on August 28, 1963.
Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Fela Kuti. Arrested 200 times by different regimes - Fela Kuti was jailed during current president Muhammadu Buhari's initial term as Head of State in 1983. The Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer was sentenced to five year's imprisonment by a military tribunal. He was found guilty of illegally attempting to export £1,000 in foreign currency at a Lagos airport in what he described as "trumped up charges" that were politically motivated. Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, Nigeria chief of staff at the time, reportedly said the government would ensure Fela was in prison for a long time, concluding "and I hope he will rot in Jail" according to Amnesty International.
Courtesy Fred Martins
Pictured Ruby Dee. The U.S. actress and late husband Ossie Davis were arrested in 1999 while protesting outside New York City police headquarters against the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant. Dee and Davis were important figures in the civil rights movement and counted Martin Luther Kind Jr. and Malcom X as friends. She died aged 91 in June 2014.

Story highlights

Artist Fred Martins has used the Afro comb to celebrate key freedom and equality activists

Martins chose jail mug shots to capture a side view of activists' faces

CNN  — 

It’s a well recognized image. Today’s modern hand-fisted Afro comb. One artist has used its symbol to celebrate black activists jailed fighting for freedom, fairness and social justice.

Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Fela Kuti amongst others have had their images digitally crafted onto Afro combs, set against a bright orange background. The images, shared on social media, tallied over half a million views in the first 24 hours.

Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
The Black Girl Magic series by multimedia artist Pierre Jean-Louis on Instagram, transforms photographs of black women's afros into images depicting nature.
Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
"I got inspired by #blackgirlmagic", says Jean-Louis, explaining the term is used for those "who aren't afraid of rocking their natural beauty, natural hair and all".
Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
When it comes to black women, "A lot of them are brainwashed to not appreciate their natural beauty" says Jean-Louis.
Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
Pierre Jean-Louis noticed that more black women across the U.S. were choosing to wear their hair natural and "show their African heritage", he says.
Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
The images have been manipulated using the photography app Enlight.
Courtesy Pierre Jean-Louis
He adds: "I didn't think the public was going to love it the way they do. They really appreciate my work. It means a lot to me".

They are the work of Nigerian artist Fred Martins: “I chose orange because it’s associated with prison”, he told CNN.

Inspiration came from the unlikeliest of places - listening to traditional West African high life music: “It was full of praise for the noblemen” he says.

“I realized that most of these legendary activists, from Marcus Garvey, Patrice Lumumba to Angela Davis among others were at some point jailed for forcing their way to resurrect the African consciousness” says Martins.

The ‘Black, Orange and Freedom’ art series have been created “to arouse commemoration of the heroes that inspire many people today.”

Martins, who is currently based in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, chose jail mug shots to capture a side view of the activists’ faces.

As for the comb, he says “Worn in the 1970s by fluffy afroed youths in America as a protest against repression, it’s a symbol that goes beyond style and adornment.”