“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.
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).
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).