Through the series of entries, I have tried to convey that African American artists captured images in their work that portrayed the realities for them within American society. Throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century, the portraits of the selected artists show that African Americans expressed political and social consciousness in a variety of mediums. By examining such works, one can gain a perspective of some of the realities experienced by blacks in the United States. While this has been a limited selection, there are many more examples, mediums, and artists that further express their take on history. A BRIEF list of such artists include: 

Aaron Douglas
Barkley Leonard Hendricks
Simmie Knox
Edmonia Lewis
Gordon Parks
Horace Pippin
Lorna Simpson
Henry Ossawa Taner
Kara Walker 

A nice bank of artists is also listed here.

A look back at the works included in this discussion can be seen below:

Wayne Mann’s “Obama Crossing” (2009) is a retake of Emanuel Leutz’s famous image of “George Washington Crossing the Delaware.” The painting represents the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, as well as the first African American president. The passengers in the ship are First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, Jesse Jackson, John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and David Axelrod. The inclusion of those in the boat represents supporters of President Obama during his campaign. 

The mood of the image is both powerful and celebratory, which captured the mood of many black Americans at the time of President Obama’s historical victory in 2008. Having been denied political access, rights, and representation since the establishment of the nation, the election of a black president marked a day that many blacks thought would never happen. 

Many cite the election of President Obama as a symbol of America being a “post-racial” society. These people argue that by having a black president, America has moved past its legacy of racism and discrimination. 

The racial slurs and negative racial undertones during his presidency have shown this idea to be false. 

While progress has been made towards better conditions for minorities, there is still a lot left lacking in the treatment of and resources for people of color.

Works Cited
http://u000172022.photoshelter.com/image/I0000cxeju4KL8Zk
Blog of Artist Wayne Mann

In Herbert Singleton’s wood carving, “Ain’t Goin Back” (1990s), a timeline of the short Civil Rights movement appears to be depicted. At the top of the painting is a bus of passengers, with the only black passenger isolated to the back of the bus, symbolic of the de facto racial segregation that existed in America. The middle of the carving is the image of presumably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic figure of the 1950s civil rights movement.  At the bottom of the carving, a scene of potential police brutality is portrayed. What looks to be like the protest sign of a black man is on the ground, as he is captured by a white police officer.

Although the exact date of this carving is unknown, it can be speculated that the image of the police beating is symbolic of the beating of Rodney King. In March 1991, in Los Angeles, Rodney King was pursued in a high speed chase that ended in the brutal beating of Rokdey King by the LAPD, which was caught on tape. The officers were charged, but later acquitted, which led to an uproar that led to four days of violence in southern California including arson, looting, and shooting. 54 people died and more than 2,300 were hurt in those four days between April 29-May 2. It became known as the “deadliest civil disturbance in the U.S. since the Civil War” (George).  A timeline of the incidnt can be found below:

http://timelines.latimes.com/los-angeles-riots/

This painting and incident highlight a persistent problem with police brutality and racial practices within the justice system. For blacks and Latinos, the prison sentences and treatments received typically differ from whites with the same offenses. The incident also shows the power of a growing prison industrial complex that is filled largely with men and women of color.

Works Cited

http://www.caamuseum.org/web_pages/current_exhibitions_soul_stirring.htm

Hodak, George. "King verdict ignites LA riots: April 29, 1992." ABA Journal Apr. 2010: 72. LegalTrac. Web. 15 Apr. 2014

Perry, Regina. “Herbert Singtleton.” KnowLa Encyclopedia of Louisiana. Ed. David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. http://www.knowla.org/entry/1388/

LA Times http://timelines.latimes.com/los-angeles-riots/

In Jacob Lawrence’s “Genesis Creation Sermon I, In the Beginning All Was Voided” (1989), Lawrence depicts the reverend of a black church. The painting, which is the first in a series of eight, shows the preacher looking heavenward.  This scene marks the beginning of the Christian narrative of the creation of the world. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”- Genesis 1:1 (NIV).

In line with the theme of creation, the 1980s marked the creation of what some scholars argue was the creation of a true black middle class.  The growing income gap within the black community allowed some to have more economic mobility than others. This era was marked by increases in black suburbanization, which had previously been limited due to redlining and segregation. Along with this suburbanization came an increased wealth gap, due to the ability to own homes. This shift comes far behind that of whites, who, with the creation of the G.I. Bill and the Interstate Act of 1956 were largely able to move into the suburbs (Donally). The period of almost three decades that passed before blacks were able to have similar levels of access to housing as whites, along with a national legacy of slavery and legal exclusion, help explain why there is a persisting gap of wealth inequality between whites and blacks, and why there was an absence of a clearly defined, large black middle class for so many years.

Works Cited

Donnally, Jennifer. “The Polarizing Age”.

Harrison, Bennett. Gorham, Lucy. “Growing Inequality in Black Wages in the 1980s and the Emergence of an African-American Middle Class”. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Spring, 1992), pp. 235-253

Scneider, Mark. Phelan, Thomas. “Black Suburbanization in the 1980s”. Demography, Vol. 30, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 269-279

www.scadmoa.org/art/collections/genesis-creation-sermon-i-in-the-beginning-all-was-void

http://thewalters.org/events/eventdetails.aspx?e=2737

Rather than analyze Betye Saar’s “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (1972), watch her own explanation of the piece below.

She describes the piece as a work of protest. During the 1970s, both women and blacks had a number of things to protest, so for black women, the feminist movement took on a duality that white women did not have to encounter. This movement fell under the “New Left”, which had come out of the shift away from male breadwinner liberalism (Donnally). 

Black women were faced with the challenge of developing policies and niches that fit both their racial and gender needs.  This was somewhat problematic. The women’s movement accused black women of being unsupportive and black men saw black feminists as abandoning the cause of racial progress.  Among the issues that black women wanted particular attention on were around discrimination and an expansion of the welfare state or around issues of “matriarchy”. With black women as often the sole provider for the household, they had a more vested interest in gaining access to government supported programs that could ensure better outcomes for their children, more so than white women. The division along such issues caused black women to create their own feminist movement so that they could address the issues that black women faced not only as being black, but also as being a woman. In 1973, the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) was founded for black women to address the complexities of being black and a woman. This organization was the first of many formal women of color feminist organizations created to organize around dual identity issues.

Works Cited

Donnally, Jennifer. "The Rise of Male Breadwinner Conservatism"

Helene, Charlery. “Le patriarcat ou le féminisme noir”. Revue française d’études américaines 4/ 2007 (no. 114), p. 77-87.

http://www.the-art-minute.com/on-behalf-of-aunt-jemima/

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/BetyeSaar.php?i=324

Black Past

“Die” (1967) by Faith Ringgold depicts the violent struggle that occurred during the height of the 1960s Civil Rights movement. In the painting, the scene is chaotic, as was the period Ringgold is portraying. Both blacks and whites appear to be the perpetrators of violence.  A child is also caught in between the violence, while an interracial scene of protection is also embedded in the image. All those involved have faces of anguish. Everyone involved in the portrait also has some sort of blood on them, showing that no one went unscathed by the injustices that were occurring at the time.

Although the Civil Rights movement began with the emancipation of slaves in 1865 in what is known as the Long Civil Rights Movement, the Civil Rights movement is typically thought of for the protests of the late 1950s and 60s (Donnally). The scene by Ringgold shows the conflicting ideals of violence versus that of non-violence, as well as integration versus separatism. While Dr. Martin Luther King was known for his stance on non-violence as stated in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, where he states “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issues that it can no longer be ignored… ” (255). This attitude was not held by all participants in the movement due to the belief in self-defense. Thus, blood was shed in the struggle for equality and rights. 

Works Cited

http://www.thereisnothere.org/2011/11/faith-ringgold-american-people-black-light/

http://news.byu.edu/archive13-aug-freedome.aspx

Donnally, Jennifer. The Civil Rights Movement.

King, Jr., Martin Luther. Letter From Birmingham City Jail. Reading the American Past (255-259).

In Hale Woodruff’s “Art of the Negro: Muses” (1950-1951), the final panel in the series, Woodruff depicts the blending and “involuntary marriage of African and European cultures”. He includes seventeen African artists that influenced his work, that sit beneath a male African muse and female European muse.

The blending of such cultures was experienced by black Americans day in and day out. However, things were not as picturesque as Woodruff depicts. Coming off World War II, black veterans were being systematically denied rights. Blacks were still treated as second class citizens, schools were still segregated. Midway through the 1950s however, blacks, along with non-racist whites, in efforts by such groups as the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC),  Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), worked together in what would become the most remembered aspect of the Civil Rights movement. Together, blacks began to protest for the rights and access they wanted. 

Things began to slowly change, with the ruling of Brown v. The Board of Education in 1954, but the video above shows the difficulties faced living under a system of racial hierarchy and restricted access. This treatment added fuel to the fire for what would come in the 1960s. As quoted by George E. McMillian, “…the Negro’s claims for his legal and constitutional rights, not to mention economic opportunity and personal dignity, have run into a stone wall of denial and defiance from the white South" (249). These attitudes were not confined to the south and blacks and non-violent whites continued to fight for change.

Works Cited

McMillan, George “Sit-Downs: The South’s New Time Bomb”. (1960) Reading the American Past. p 238-242.

http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH200/woodruff.htm

http://www.cau.edu/Academics_Murals.aspx

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/hale-woodruff-1900-1980

In John Woodrow Wilson’s “Street Car Scene” (1945) shows a black Navy Yard worker in transit either to or from work. Despite his obvious patch indicating his involvement with the armed forces, he is still seen with disdain by the white passengers on the bus. This picture shows the war efforts of blacks. Just as there were black soldiers abroad, there were blacks involved in the war efforts domestically as well. 

Despite being in service to their country, this did not gain the respect of whites. Blacks were still faced with discriminatory treatment and did not receive the same benefits as whites. Blacks also faced segregated living quarters in regiments. It was these conditions that led to the Double V Campaign. Blacks wanted “victory of racism abroad and victory of racism at home”(Donnally). The campaign pointed out the hypocrisies of the United States government. The argument centered around how a country fighting against the discrimination and hatred of Nazi Germany have such poor treatment of its own minority citizens?

The campaign was met with resistance by the Roosevelt administration, who claimed that all efforts and attention had to be focused on the war. This denial by the administration would set the scene for the height of the Civil Rights movement, which would come in the 1950s and 60s.

Works Cited

Bailey, Beth. Farber, David. “The "Double-V" Campaign in World War II Hawaii: African Americans, Racial Ideology, and Federal Power”. Journal of Social History, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Summer, 1993), pp. 817-843

Donnally, Jennifer. “WWII and the Homefront”

Metmuseum:John Woodrow Wilson

http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/courier.html

In James Lesesne Wells’s, “The Negro Worker” (1938), a black man appears to be leaving a factory. During the 1930s, the Great Depression took a toll on both the American and international economy. Among those harmed the most during the great depression were minorities and the poor. Minnie Hardin describes the conditions of the poor during this time: 

“You people who have plenty of this worlds goods and whose money comes easy, have no idea of the heart-breaking toil and self-denial which is the lot of the working people who are trying to make an honest living, and then to have to shoulder all these unjust burdens seems like the last straw.” (185)

She blames the issues of the depression on the politicians, who she says are self-serving, greedy, and crooked. Like the poor, black suffered higher economic consequences during the depression. Blacks had higher incidences of unemployment and public relief, as well as higher levels of displacement than whites. The New Deal did little to ease the large employment gap that already existed for blacks prior to the onset of the Depression. Discrimination in hiring also made it increasingly difficult for blacks and other minorities to find work. Wells’s lithograph leaves the viewer wondering how many other blacks and poor were not as fortunate to have work during this time. 

Works Cited

James Lesesne Wells

Hardin Minnie. “Letter to Elanor Roosevelt” (1938) Reading the American Past. P 183-185.

Sundstrom, William. “Last Hired, First Fired? Unemployment and Urban Black Workers During the Great Depression”. The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Jun., 1992), pp. 415-429.

In this picture “Blues” (1928), Archibald Motley depicts the lifestyle that was found in many clubs during the Harlem Renaissance. The scene of vibrancy and enjoyment was in light of the celebration of black expression. During the 1920s, black Americans experienced a newfound public freedom of expression in the arts, particularly in music. Clubs were filled with young blacks that would indulge in dance, music, and alcohol. Figures such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Walt Whitman came to prominence. The period saw the development of the “New Negro” (Donnally). Reverend Reverdy C. Ransome’s poem, “The New Negro” (1923) describes this phenomenon:

…Rough hewn form the jungle and the desert’s sands,
Slavery was the chisel that fashioned him to form,
And gave him all the arts and sciences had won.
The lyncher, mob and stake have been his enemy wheel,
TO MAKE A POLISHED MAN of strength and power.
In him, the latest birth of freedom,
God hath again made all things new.
Europe and Asia with ebbing tides recede,
America’s unfinished arch of freedom waits,
Till he, the corner stone of strength
Is lifted into place and power.
Behold him! dauntless and unafraid he stands.
He comes with laden arms,
Bearing rich gifts to science, religion, poetry and song….

The rise of jazz and black culture in the public sphere did not, however, elevate the social, political, and economic situation of black Americans. While they were allowed access to creating music for larger society to enjoy, blacks were still largely excluded in politics and economics. De facto segregation and the separate but equal paradigm along with Jim Crow relegated blacks into separate physical spheres from whites.

Works Cited

Donnally, Jennifer. The Roaring Twenties. 

Jarrett, Gene Andrew. New Negro Politics. American Literary History, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 836-846

Palmer, Roderick. Recollection of the Harlem Renaissance. The Educational Forum. Vol. 27, Iss. 2, 1963.

http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-272830

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/motley.html