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.
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
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