NBAF Vendor Market At Atlantic Station

The vendor market at Atlantic Station was wonderful. We experienced a variety of artwork from paintings, sculptors and jewelry. I collected an arrary of cards for future purchases. As you can see, my kids had a blast!

Hammonds House

Sam Cooke

Samuel Cook, better known as Sam Cooke, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He grew up in Chicago, where is father, Reverend Charles Cook, was minister of Christ Holiness Church. By age nine Sam, with his two sisters, formed a gospel trio the Singing Children. As a teenager, he was a member of the nationally famous Highway Q.C.'s (so named because their home base was the Highway Baptist Church) with his younger brother, L.C. Cook. at the age of nineteen, he became lead vocalist of the Soul Stirrers, with whom he toured and recorded for six years.

Cooke soon became a gospel superstar. However, the monetary and worldly rewards for singing gospel could never equal those for singing to the masses. Cooke gave in and recorded "Lovable" under the name Dale Cook. Cooke's voice was to unique not to be recognized. Lovable sold 25,000 copies. Cooke was a ground breaking black music capitalist. He owned his own record label (SAR/Derby), music publishing company (Kags Music), and management firm with offices in the Warner Brothers Building in Hollywood.

With a live LP in the Top 30, Cooke was in L.A. partying when he met 22 year old Elisa Boyer at a club on December 11, 1964. They drove to South Central where they registered at the Hacienda Motel as Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cooke. Later Boyer left the room with most of Cooke's clothing. Cooke wearing one shoe and a jacket broke into the motel's office where he thought she was hiding. There he found Bertha Franklin the motel's manager who shoot him three times with a .22. Cooke was shoot and killed on December 11, 1964 at the Hacienda motel in Los Angeles. The manager of the motel, Bertha Franklin claimed Cooke had tried to rape a twenty one year old woman Elisa Boyer and then turned on her. The coroner's office ruled the death as justifiable homicide. Over thirty five years later there remain questions about the circumstances of Cooke's death and there has been talk about reopening the investigation. "A Change Is Gonna Come" was released in 1965 after his death and charted at #31. It represented a return to Cooke's roots, placing him back in the spiritual setting from which he had first emerged just nine years before.

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872, Dunbar penned a large body of dialect poems, standard English poems, essays, novels and short stories before he died at the age of 33. His work often addressed the difficulties encountered by members of his race and the efforts of African-Americans to achieve equality in America. He was praised both by the prominent literary critics of his time and his literary contemporaries. Matilda taught her children a love of songs and storytelling. Having heard poems read by the family she worked for when she was a slave, Matilda loved poetry and encouraged her children to read. Dunbar was inspired by his mother, and he began reciting and writing poetry as early as age 6.

Dunbar was the only African-American in his class at Dayton Central High, and while he often had difficulty finding employment because of his race, he rose to great heights in school. He was a member of the debating society, editor of the school paper and president of the school's literary society. He also wrote for Dayton community newspapers. He worked as an elevator operator in Dayton's Callahan Building until he established himself locally and nationally as a writer. He published an African-American newsletter in Dayton, the Dayton Tattler, with help from the Wright brothers.

He sold his book for a dollar to people who rode the elevator. As more people came in contact with his work, however, his reputation spread. In 1893, he was invited to recite at the World's Fair, where he met Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist who rose from slavery to political and literary prominence in America. Douglass called Dunbar "the most promising young colored man in America."

Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore, a young writer, teacher and proponent of racial and gender equality who had a master's degree from Cornell University. Dunbar took a job at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He found the work tiresome, however, and it is believed the library's dust contributed to his worsening case of tuberculosis. He worked there for only a year before quitting to write and recite full time.

In 1902, Dunbar and his wife separated. Depression stemming from the end of his marriage and declining health drove him to a dependence on alcohol, which further damaged his health.

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names: 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply Pac, was an African American folk artist renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. Tupac Shakur was born in Brookly, NY in 1971. Early in his life, he moved to Baltimore , MD, where he attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes qualms with other fellow rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts with the law. His style on this album was heavily influenced by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip-hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the legacy of such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and even Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast.

Aaron Douglas

Aaron Douglas (1898 - 1979) painter and muralist was born in Kansas. Aaron Douglas received a B.A. in art from the University of Nebraska. Douglas' use of African design and subject matter in his work brought him attention Aaron Douglas became a leading visual artist during this time. In fact, he was called the "Dean of African-American painters" during the Harlem Renaissance time. Aaron Douglas' style, flat with hard edges and repetitive designs, was heavily influenced by African sculptures, jazz music, dance and geometric forms. Douglas joined the faculty of Fisk University in 1937 and stayed there until his retirement in 1966.

Charles White

Charles Wilbert White, African-American Social Realist Painter (April 2, 1918 - October 3, 1979) was an African American artist born in Chicago. He was known for his WPA era murals. White was married for a time to sculptor Elizabeth Catlett.
White's best known work is The Contribution of the Negro to American Democracy, a mural at Hampton University depicting a number of notable blacks including Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner, Peter Salem, George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman,Frederick Douglass, and Marian Anderson.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat American Painter was born on December 22, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York. Jean-Michel is considered one of the best-known artists of his generation and one of only a small number of Hispanic-African-American artists to have achieved international recognition. Jean-Michel's father Gerard, was unable to fulfill the needs of his son of nurturing and recognition. To fill the void, Jean-Michel hit the streets of New York at a young age where art became an outlet for his anger and empty childhood. Also known by the tag "SAMO," Jean-Michel's unique brand of graffiti was found throughout Manhattan as early as 1976. "His work from the first consisted of conceptual, enigmatic combinations of words and symbols, executed with the curt simplicity of a late Roman inscription. In early 1982 Jean-Michel took the art world by storm with his rampageous one-man show at Annina Nosei's gallery. This momentum propelled him to the forefront of the Neo-Expressionist movement which was characterized by intense subjectivity of feeling and aggressively raw handling of materials.

On August 12th, 1988, Jean-Michel died from a drug overdose. Many critics say he preferred women and drugs (including Madonna) over galleries, art dealers, collectors, and money. Lacking the fatherly support and acknowledgment he so desperately sought, Jean-Michel was unable to balance fame and fortune with his personal demons.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was America's first black poet. She was born c. 1753-5 in Gambia, Africa and died around December, 1784. Phillis' gift of writing poetry was encouraged by her owners and their daughter, Mary; they taught Phillis to read and write, with her first poem being published at the age of twelve, "On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin." Obour Tanner, a former slave who made the journey through the middle passage with Phillis was one of the chief influences and supporters of her craft.
She was fond of writing in the elegiac poetry style, mirroring the genre of oration taught to her through the women in her African American tribal group. She also was well versed in Latin which allowed her to write in the epyllion (short epic) style with the publication of "Niobe in Distress." Phillis' popularity as a poet both in the United States and England ultimately brought her freedom from slavery on October 18, 1773. She even appeared before General Washington in March, 1776 for her poetry and was a strong supporter of independence during the Revolutionary War. Phillis is remembered for many first time accomplishments from a woman of her day:

• First African American to publish a book


• An accomplished African American woman of letters


• First African American woman to earn a living from her writing


• First woman writer encouraged and financed by a group of women (Mrs. Wheatley, Mary Wheatly, and Selina Hastings.)

Langston Hughes

Fine artist Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri and died of cancer on May 22, 1967. James Langston Hughes was a member of an abolitionist family. He was the great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black American to be elected to public office, in 1855. Langston began writing poetry in the eighth grade, and was selected as Class Poet. His father didn't think he would be able to make a living at writing and encouraged him to pursue an engineering degree.

One of his favorite pastimes was sitting in the clubs listening to blues, jazz and writing poetry. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer. When the United States plunged into World War II, Hughes escaped military service, but he put his pen to work on behalf of political involvement and nationalism.

Langston Hughes died of cancer on May 22, 1967. His residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place" .

Stevie Wonder

Born Steveland Morris May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. Stevie Wonder was placed in an incubator and given too much oxygen, causing permanent sight loss. Recognized as a folk artist, Stevie started playing the harmonica at five, he started piano lessons at six and took up the drums at eight. To pass the time of day, Stevie would beat on pot, pans, and any other surface that helped him keep rhythm with the tunes he heard on the radio. As he became proficient on various real instruments, he started playing at the local church and soon grew to be something of a neighborhood sensation. As a child prodigy at an early age, Steveland sang like a seasoned veteran. Stevie was awarded the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Currently, Stevie has received 22 Grammy Awards. In the early 1970's Stevie pioneered the use of synthesizers, a
venture that hugely influenced the face of popular music. In 1973 he was the first black person to win a Grammy for the best album of the year. Stevie Wonder is without question one of the great personalities in music history.

Hale Woodruff

Hale Aspacio Woodruff was born on August 26, 1900, in Cairo, Illinois and died in New York City on September 6, 1980. Hale Woodruff, a fine artist, nationally known printmaker, draftsman, and painter, was a member of the Atlanta University faculty for fifteen years. While teaching at Atlanta University, he was responsible for establishing the university's art program. Woodruff's abstract and semi-abstract oils show strong affinities with the works of modern European masters. His free, broad brushstrokes convey colorful impressions of rhythmic movements in nature-the rushing sea or the rippling plain-presented in bright, clear, resonant colors: whites, deep blues, rusty browns, yellows, reds, and pinks. He is also an important mural painter, where his talent for design gives cohesion and interest to the historical subjects he chooses.

Upon returning home from a four-year sojourn to France in the 1920s, Woodruff joined the faculty of Atlanta University in 1931. It was his initial venture with art instruction and made him one of the first college professors of studio art in the state of Georgia. In the course of a decade, Woodruff developed a "one-man art department," promoted a plethora of visual arts activities, and initiated the Atlanta University Art Annuals (1942-70), twenty-nine national art exhibitions for black artists. Woodruff's early work reflects his exposure to cubism while living in France during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Woodruff was inspired by Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera.

Alice Walker

Fine artist, Alice Walker is an African American author and feminist, born in 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia, to sharecropper parents. Alice is one of the best-known and most highly respected writers in the U.S. Educated at Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College. In continuing the activism that she participated in during her college years, Walker returned to the South where she became involved with voter registration drives, campaigns for welfare rights, and children's programs in Mississippi. In 1965, Walker met and later married Mel Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer. They became the first legally married inter-racial couple in Mississippi. This brought them a steady stream of harassment and even murderous threats from the Ku Klux Klan. The couple had a daughter, Rebecca, and divorced in 1976. Active in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the South, she used her own and others' experiences as material for her searing examination of politics and black-white relations in her novels. Her works typically focus on the struggles of African Americans, particularly women, and their struggle against a racist, sexist, and violent society. Alice also focuses on the role of women of color in culture and history. Walker is a respected figure in the liberal political community for her support of unconventional and unpopular views as a matter of principle.

Romare Bearden

Romare Howard Bearden (fine artist) was born on September 2, 1911 and died in New York City on March 12, 1988, at the age of 76. Romare Bearden is considered as one of the most creative and original visual artist of the twentieth century. He experimented with many different mediums and artistic styles, but is best known for his richly textured collages. His life and art are marked by exceptional talent, encompassing a broad range of and scholarly interests, including music, performing arts, history, literature and world art. Bearden was also a celebrated humanist, as demonstrated by his lifelong support of young, emerging artists. Bearden was a prolific artist whose works were exhibited during his lifetime throughout the United States and Europe. His collages, watercolors, oils, photomontages and prints are imbued with visual metaphors from his past in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Harlem and from a variety of historical, literary and musical sources. Among his many friends, Bearden had close associations with such distinguished artists, intellectuals and musicians as James Baldwin, Stuart Davis, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Joan Miró, George Grosz, Alvin Ailey and Jacob Lawrence.

A Poetic Response

After listening to the young poets from Georgia State University and one high school senior, I find them to be similar to the artists of the Harlem Renaissance; however, the difference is each generation are expressing their thoughts of issues/concerns regarding elements of society that affects them currently. These young poets were very passionate and electric. Among the group of five, one will publish their first book around September 2008. And most importantly, this was the first time NBAF hosted a young poets events and these youths truly have set a high bar.

Expressions #3

A Family Undivided

Thank you for your patience while I pursue my degree
And you guys had no problem with agreeing to a silent decree

Thank you for being an editor for my term paper
Allowing me to pursue my dream of becoming a mover and shaker.

Thank you family...Costa, Taylor and Cameron

Thank you!

I Have a Dream

I dream of the world valuing and giving everyone an education that is affordable
I dream of no more socioeconomic disparities among races
I dream of a world of no more prejudice, ignorance or crime...a world that will not stand for injustice to all mankind
I dream of a world where there is no homelessness, a world that cares and shares.
I have a dream for love, peace and harmony to all living being.

Expressions #2

Where are the dreamers.....

As I look at the youths of today, we can't begin to imagine the decay they see in this world everyday...

Controversial media tactics, police brutality, social and economic disparity among races, glamorization of violence, robbing, stealing and killing amongst ourselves....

And for what...a few "Benjamins" that can barely cover rent?

Where are the dreamers? I know some are out there but society doesn't care, they just want to report on the ones with low self esteem in county jumpsuits.

Where are the dreamers.........

Where are the dreamers.........

Where are the dreamers.........

Expressions #1

It's 5PM and the work day has ended
finally I can go home and kick up my heels, splendid.

Now my life long dream job is about to start,
me being a wife and mother at heart.

My family consist of my husband, daughter and son,
oh, what an awesome web I've spurned.

They bring me laughter, joy and peace,
seeing a smile on their face just makes me week.

Lord, thank you for blessing me and bestowing a holy cover,
being able to hold he titles of wife and mother.

Your say.

Throughout this class, I have involved my entire family with the knowledge, appreciation and understanding of Humanities and Art. I would like to share with you a poem my husband wrote for me:

"A Poem for my wife"

If you were a flower you would be a rose,

and if I had to pick a car I would choose a Rolle.

When I look at you I see my life, that's why I am glad God chose you as my wife.

You birth my two beautiful kids, man, now that was big.

So I say to you and I want you to remember, that I love you from January to December.

With love from your dear husband,

Costa

Black Mammy

Jemima's story began in 1889 when Charles Rutt, a St. Joseph, Missouri, newspaper man, got the idea of a self rising pancake mix that required only the addition of water. He took the name Aunt Jemima from a vaudeville song of the time by the well known team of Baker and Farrell. The R.T. Davis Mills in St. Joseph bought the idea--and with it the supporting story. To give character to the logo--wide mouthed, rag headed, crudely rendered--Davis Mills invented a whole legend for Aunt Jemima. Aunt Jemima, the story went, had been a cook on the Louisiana plantation of a certain Colonel Higbee and that her reputation for fine pancakes had spread far and wide. In 1925, Davis sold the Aunt Jemima brand and operation to Quaker Oats, whose gentle Penn figure was about the same age. Aunt Jemima products of pancake mix and syrup can found in local grocery stores with a much more contemporary look.

Nigger, Nigga, N-word

The history of the word "nigger" is traced back to the Latin word niger, meaning black. This word became the noun negro (black person) in English, and simply the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. The word "nigger" is used in today's society as a deragatory name against any African American but used by all races. The term "nigga" is used without intentional prejudice, among younger members of all races and ethnicity's in the United States. Some African-Americans express considerable offense when referred to as a nigga by Caucasian people, but not if they are called the same by other African-Americans, or by some other minority, as a term of endearment. An artistic license does not make this word acceptable. Many African American ancestors were killed and this is probably the last word they heard before their lives were taken away. I agree with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office with denying Damon Wayans to trademark "Nigga" to launch his hip-hop clothing line. Damon Wayans is attempting to capitalize on the revenue for using "nigga" because is used mainly by the hip hop community and possible attract other ethnicity's into buying the product as well. I am not sure if the government should make the decision to block his request to trademark the word because there are other pressing issues that the government will take any part of. In my opinion, Damon Wayans was not trying to use an "artistic license".
The N-word is used in the same context as the "nigger". Many people will say "N-word" instead of using the other terms.

Hip Hop vs. The Harlem Renaissance - What's your take?

When Hip Hop arrived on the scene back in the early 1980s, there was a slow response from the radio stations but the people on the streets were loving the new vibe and concept of rap music. Rap music started out talking about light-hearted situations that happen on an everyday basis. Not until the mid to late 80s is when rap music switch gears and became political awareness and protest message. Society does not classify rapping and/or rappers as a form of art but there are some rappers that would definitely qualify (i.e. Common, Tupac Shakur, KRS One, Mos Def, Public Enemy, Arrested Development, etc.)
However, the artists of the Harlem Renaissance period started out and maintain its stand against the racial and political injustice against black people. This was their sounding board and they sounded off very loud and did it well.

Spelman College

On Monday, July 23, 2007, I visited Spelman College and I was unable to view the museum because it was closed and there were no exhibits on display. I was instructed to go to Packard Hall - Building 14 and Ms. Barbara called to confirm the museum was closed.

National Blacks Arts Festival: Artist Market at Greenbriar Mall

After attending the artist market at Greenbriar Mall, I was able to view many different artists work from paintings, carvings, sculptors, clothing and jewelry. I was able to talk with an artist by the name of Buchi Upjohn Aghaji, a Nigerian born artist, who now resides in Douglasville, Georgia. His work consisted of oil, watercolor and acrylic on cold-pressed paper, canvas, burlap, wood and pottery. There was one picture that caught my eye entitled "Sunday Sister" with an asking price of $5,500.00. This painting is very vibrant and it contains many different colors which represents a celebration.

National Black Arts Festival: Literary Festival at the Auburn Avenue Research Library

My experience and the Auburn Avenue Research Library was very educational. I observed the Books in Black: A New Page! exhibit and it was educational as well. This exhibit displayed a lot of African American inventions that make everyday life simple still to this day. Examples included:

• Baby Buggy/Strollers
• Pace maker by Otis Boykin
• Super Soaker Water gun by Lonnie Johnson
• Tricycle by M.A. Cherry

Movies that Preserve History

1. Sidney Portier
2. Ossie Davis
3. Ruby Dee
4. Cicely Tyson
5. Malcolm X
6. Dorothy Dandridge
7. Miles Davis
8. Bill Cosby
9. Harry Belafonte
10. Josephine Baker

"Talk To Me"

Don Cheadle was pheonominal in this movie! His character Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, Jr. was a history lesson throughout the whole movie. Petey Greene was an ex-con who was determined to obtain his dream job of being a disc jockey with the tenacity, determination and dedication to keeping it real for the people and the ability to calm the community in a time of crisis with his gift-of-gab skills. Also this movie shows the level of commitment to obtain a dream and the sacrifices a person make to reach that level by any means. This is a must see movie for all.

Poetry Reading

The event I attended was entitled "Up Next: Writing in the Tradition" held at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on Saturday, July 21, 2007.

• The common thread among the black poets were their ages (16 to 25).
• Topics: What is your scent? / Robber Robber / Why you blow smoke?
• The dominant culture of the neighborhood was African American
• The audience consist of both young and older African American and young Caucasians.
• The tenacity of the poets stuck out to me.
• The mood of the event was positive and powerful.

Minstrel Show/Black Face Theater

A minstrel show consist of comedy play or skit performed by white people in black face. These shows orginated in the US early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form of comedy in the next decade. Minstrel shows portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways: as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical. As African Americans began to score legal and social victories against racism and to successfully assert political power, minstrelsy lost popularity.

Black stereotypes on television

Good times represented the stereotypes that of socioeconomic challenges of the Evans family.

What's Happening show represented the stereotype of single female head of household.

Girlfriends show represented the stereotype of single successful single black females experiences in looking for love.

Black Traditions

1. Full course meals every Sunday.
2. Cooking with pork.
3. Celebrate incoming new year in church.
4. Celebrating family reunions
5. Responding to the pastors during sermons.

African American History and Film

1. In the Heat of the Night - this film documented the history of a small southern town in the south with it's first Black Chief of Police.
2. Ray - this film documented the racial disparity mainly in the music industry and the towns the black entertainers performed in.
3. Remember the Titans - this film documented the racial disparity of a small town high school football team and the town and team overcame the racial barriers.
4. Bingo Long All Stars - this film documented the racial disparity among the baseball teams in the segregated southern states.
5. Jackie Robinson Story - this film documents the life story of Jackie Robinson in his plight to break the color barriers in the baseball industry.
6. Roots - this film documented the history of African American families during slavery.
7. Malcolm X - this film documented the life of Malcolm X.
8. Tuskegee Airman - this film documented the first group of African American Air force pilots and their plight.
9. Glory - this film documents US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
10. Glory Road - this film documented the National Conference of Collegiate Sports (NCCA) first every starting five African Americans players to break the color barrier to play in this conference.

Graffitti - Is it art?

Graffiti is an urbanized form of art. Although graffiti is mainly seen in lower socioeconomic communities, the artistic ability of the graffiti artist is extraordinary. These artist use their visual artistic ability to draw this art free-hand and sometimes it's done while rushing, trying not to get caught.

Imus and Kramer - Why?

These white personalities think they can call black women and men "niggers" and "ho's" because they hear many African Americans saying these names on a everyday basis. Since slavery is no longer visually in existence, we have all become desensitized to true meaning of the word and how it was used to devalue African Americans. These derogatory names are being used in main stream movies, televisions and music as if it is a part of everyday language. Many African American youths are not being taught the full experience, purpose and ramification of the Civil Rights Movement. The struggle of African Americans for social injustice was just that "a struggle" for years at the cost of many lives. I do believe the youths of today think this world has always been the way it is with little prejudice and no separation of races. And with very little understanding of the past "struggles", the derogatory names flow freely off the tongues and is used more openly.

Dr. Julia Hare

After watching Dr. Hare speak at the State of the Black Union, I was intrigued and enlightened by her comments. Her sense of humor, wit, spunk and wisdom is remarkable. Dr. Hare should be a catalyst in the forefront for the African American community. Her comment on how the African American community needs to reclaim the minds of our children because they are no longer afraid of anyone and school system will place them into Special Education classes and then off to prison. Her analogy on the acronyms for the media broadcasting companies are priceless.

Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey was born January 5, 1931 in Roger Texas and he was a dancer and choreographer. In 1943, Ailey and his mother moved to Los Angeles, where he nurtured his interest in dance. Ailey showed an early interest in art, drawing pictures during much of his childhood. He discovered dance while on a junior high school field trip to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Eventually, he took dance classes from choreographer Katherine Dunham. But his most important influence would come from choreographer Lester Horton, who taught dance in Los Angeles. He became a member of Lester Horton's company in 1950, and when his mentor died in 1953, Ailey was chosen to take over as director and choreographer.
After training in New York City with Martha Graham and others, he founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958, which was a hugely popular, multi-racial modern dance ensemble. The company popularized modern dance around the world thanks to tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department. His most famous dance, Revelations, is based on Ailey's own experience of growing up African American in the rural South and is a celebratory study of religious spirit. He retired from the stage in 1965 to devote himself to the company.
His Broadway debut came the next year in Truman Capote's House of Flowers. Staying in New York after the play closed, Ailey studied ballet, modern dance and acting. One of his teachers was choreographer Martha Graham. Over the next ten years, Ailey appeared on and off Broadway and on film as a dancer, choreographer, actor, and director. He choreographed Leonard Bernstein's Mass, which was the debut performance of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Samuel Barber's opera, Antony and Cleopatra, which was the inaugural production of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Theater. Ailey received the Kennedy Center Honors in December 1, 1988 and died a year later of AIDS.

Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson born December 19, 1933 in Harlem, New York by devoutly religious parents from the Caribbean island of Nevis. She worked as a secretary and model while establishing herself as an actress. She was discovered by a fashion editor at Ebony magazine and, with her stunning looks, she quickly rose to the top of the modeling industry. In 1957, she began acting in Off-Broadway productions. Cicely was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her sensational performance in the critically acclaimed film Sounder (1972). In 1974, she went on to portray a 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), which earned her two Emmys. While Cicely has not appeared steadily onscreen because of her loyality to only portray strong, positive images of Black women, she is without a doubt one of the most talented, beautiful actresses to have ever graced the stage and screen. The Cicely Tyson High School of Performing and Fine arts was named in her honor is located in East Orange, New Jersey. She was married to Miles Davis by Andrew Young in the home of Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby was the best man, and gave away the bride. Cecily now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Jacob Lawrence

Jacob Lawrence born 1917 in Seattle, Washington and died June 9, 2000. His occupation consisted of a Painter, Printmaker and Muralist. Jacob Lawrence was one of the first African American artists to rise to prominence in the mainstream American art world. He was encouraged by teachers and fellow artists during his teenage years to study both art and African American history. He combined these interests to produce works unique in both their subject and style. Lawrence is also known as an illustrator of books for adults and children. The oldest of their three children, Lawrence's childhood forced his family to relocate many times as his parents looked for work. Jacob's mother, Rose Lawrence enrolled him in an after-school arts and crafts program at a local community center in order to keep him out of trouble. It was taught by a young African American artist named Charles Alston. Lawrence found little at school to interest him. After two years of high school he dropped out, despite his mother's protests. Then, in 1936, Lawrence was accepted into the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a government program designed to get young men out of the cities to work on projects such as planting trees and building roads and dams. Lawrence's CCC service taught him many new skills and made him think that perhaps painting should be only a hobby. In 1953 he was the first African American artist to receive a large grant from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the first elected a member of the Institute in 1965. In 1983 he was only the second African American elected to the fifty-member American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also received the National Medal of Arts from President George Bush in 1990. These are just a few of the many awards Lawrence has received. Lawrence died in his sleep on June 9, 2000, in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 82.

Elizabeth Catlett

Fine artist Elizabeth Catlett, born 1919 in Washington, D.C. attended Howard University where she studied design, printmaking and drawing. She is best known for her work during the 1960s and 70s, when she created politically charged, black expressionistic sculptures and prints. In 1940 Catlett became the first student to receive a Master's degree in sculpture at the University of Iowa. In 1946 Catlett received a fellowship that allowed her to travel to Mexico City where she studied painting, sculpture and lithography. There, she worked with the People's Graphic Arts Workshop, a group of printmakers dedicated to using their art to promote social change. After settling in Mexico and later becoming a Mexican citizen, she taught sculpture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City until retiring in 1975.

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Fine artist Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 - 1937). One of the first African-American artists to achieve a reputation in both America and Europe, Henry Ossawa Tanner worked in the Naturalist and genre traditions of American art. Though his work grew increasingly mainstream and allegorical, his early depictions of humble black folk about their daily lives are regarded as classic statements of African-American pride and dignity. Against his religious parents’ wishes, Henry Ossawa Tanner pursued a career in art, enrolling at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. There he studied under Thomas Eakins who first introduced him to photography. In an effort to make a living, Tanner moved to Atlanta and set up a photographic studio that ended in failure. After a brief period as an art teacher, Tanner moved to Paris and studied at the Academie Julien. He traveled across the Middle East and gathered source material to create his religious paintings. Tanner served in World War I as a member of the Red Cross and became a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur.

The very color-blindness Tanner aspired to in the judgement of his own work, he applied as a credo to his later opus. His protagonists-- black, white, Arab, Jewish--and his Christian themes are compelling in their universal humanity.

Benny Andrews

Benny Andrews (1930-2006 )Benny Andrews is a painter, collage artist, writer, printmaker, sculptor, book illustrator and teacher. His work is narrative and always carries a message. Andrews, one of ten children in a sharecropper's family, was born and raised in Madison, Georgia. He received his BFA from the school of the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1968 to 1997, he taught at Queens College and from 1982 to 1984, he served as Director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts. His collection of work includes documenting the forced relocation of Cherokees from their native lands in Georgia to Oklahoma in 1838. He initiated the series to reflect the migratory routes and experiences that influenced the lives of countless Americans including those from his own family. His work tells the story of his life and touches the viewer with a universal appeal.
Although Andrews dealt with such difficult subjects as slavery, the Holocaust, and the American response to revolt and war, his figurative expressionistic style celebrates the human spirit and the pursuit of the American Dream.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier (actor; born February 20, 1927, Miami, Florida). Sidney Poitier is an fine artist. A writer and director, a thinker and critic, a humanitarian and diplomat, his presence as a cultural icon has long been one of protest and humanity. His career defined and documented the modern history of blacks in American film, and his depiction of proud and powerful characters was and remains revolutionary. His parents were poor tomato farmers in the Bahamas. He was their seventh and last child. The family's struggles hammered home a lesson he would always live by: Survival requires everybody to carry a load. In fact, by the age of 13, he was working full-time to support the family. At 16, he arrived in New York City, totally alone, with three dollars in his pocket. In order to escape the cold, he lied about his age and joined the army. It was a short stint that lasted less than a year. Back in New York he got a job as a dishwasher and stumbled into acting. While looking for a second job to make ends meet, he came across an ad calling for actors. Without any experience or training, and barely able to read, he auditioned for the American Negro Theatre.
He is currently married to Canadian-born actress Joanna Shimkus; they have two children and four from a previous marriage. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the British Empire in 1974, which entitles him to use the title "Sir," though he chooses not to do so. He has also served as non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Faith Ringgold

Folk artist Faith Ringgold is an African-American artist and author who was born in 1930 in Harlem, New York City, and who is best known for her large, painted story quilts. As a child, she was taught to sew fabrics creatively by her mother, a professional fashion designer; and to make quilts by her great-great-grandmother. Ringgold's great-great-great grandmother had been a slave in her younger years, and made quilts for her white masters. Quilts in the African-American slave community served various purposes: warmth, preserving memories and events, storytelling, and even as "message boards" for the Underground Railroad to guide slaves on their way north to freedom. Some techniques common to African-American quilts included patchwork, applique and 'crazy' quilt; some characteristics included asymmetrical designs, bright colors and bold geometric shapes, which were spiritual symbols.
In 1950, she began studying art at New York's City College, concentrating on painting. When she graduated, she began teaching art in the New York City public schools. She had also married, and eventually had two daughters. She received her Master's degree in fine art in 1961. Soon after this, she went to Europe with her mother and her two daughters, to study the masters - Picasso, Matisse, Monet, and others. On her return, she began to paint seriously. This was in the early 1960's, when the Civil Rights movement was becoming a major force in American society, affecting her and her work greatly. In the later '60's, her work also reflected the turmoil and change all over the country, in bold, graphic images in dark colors which reflected both the dark skin of African-Americans, and perhaps the dark times. She became acquainted with feminist ideas during this time also, and worked as an activist for social change for women and blacks, particularly with regard to the American art museum system, which often omitted African-Americans and women from its exhibitions on a de facto basis.
In the 1970's, Ringgold continued to use her art to tell her own story, and in collaboration with her mother, began to sew fabric borders around her paintings, instead of stretching the canvas over wooden stretchers in the traditional manner. (She had seen this done in Tibetan paintings, called tankas.) Eventually, she and her mother produced a quilt together, a grid of 30 portraits of Harlem residents. When her mother died the following year, Ringgold decided to continue the family tradition of storytelling and history through writing, resulting in her first "story" quilt, called Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? This piece told the story of a successful businesswoman, Aunt Jemima, in an attempt to reverse a negative African-American stereotype of black women. These pieces combine acrylic painting on canvas, quilted fabric and storytelling, often a handwritten text which frames the painted image. She also began to write stories for children, such as Tar Beach, which told the story of her childhood in Harlem, when her family ate and played cards on the roof on hot evenings. She had first told this story in a quilt/painting in 1988, which was seen by a publisher who suggested that she tell the story in book form, with her accompanying illustrations. This was her first of several children's books. These stories of fictional heroines present images not of oppression or deprivation; rather, they encourage children to 'take flight' and follow their dreams. They are often painted in a 'folk' style - no indications of perspective; two-dimensional patterning, rich colors, and no shading to indicate three-dimensional volume in the forms. She continued to comment on themes of race and gender and their particular relation to the art world, including art history. A story quilt/painting about Matisse, for example, comments on his use of black models, and the associations of dark skin and male desire with such images. A story quilt about Picasso concerns the early modernists' interest in African sculpture, and its influence on such movements as Cubism. Ringgold brings to the surface the irony of using "primitive" African sculpture to create modern "civilized" art. Africans had been considered savages by European civilization - thus enabling no compunctions about buying and selling them - and yet African art could be cited as avant garde and sophisticated, and used as a basis for modernist art - without any awareness of this irony. This series of works, called The French Collection, also depicted African-American artists alongside the "giants" of modern European culture: Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Ringgold herself sit with and exchange aesthetic ideas with Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and Hemingway. Again, Ringgold subverts a racial and gender false assumption with gentle humor, rather than stridency
In the early 1980's, her work often contained a grid format; this combined the 20th century use of a grid of squares as a device to organize a composition, with the traditional use of grids (squares) in the craft of quilt-making. In the 1990's Ringgold continued to craft images dealing with the issues of slavery, racism, and sexism in her work, but combined with her folk-inspired style some aspects of modern and contemporary painting, such as Abstract Expressionism and Pop art. This included a loosened, more painterly style, and the use of repeated imagery, such as Andy Warhol used in his images of popular culture, for example his soup cans. Her color also became brighter, with rich hues of green, red, blue, as well as black, resulting in color relationships so finely tuned that they 'sing,' as well as dance visually (cause the viewer's eye to move around the painting) as they refer back to each other.

Spike Lee

Fine artist Shelton Jackson Lee was born March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia to William "Bill" Lee, a jazz composer and bassist, and Jacqueline Shelton Lee, an art teacher. His mother, who died in 1977 of cancer, nicknamed him "Spike" as toddler, evidently alluding to his toughness. Spike grew up the oldest three brothers, David, Cinque, and Chris, and one sister, Joie. The family moved from Atlanta shortly after Lee's birth and lived briefly in Chicago. In 1959 they moved to Brooklyn's predominantly black Fort Greene section. Jacqueline Lee provided a rich cultural upbringing that included plays, galleries, museums, movies. Bill Lee saw that the family experienced music, occasionally taking them to his performances at the Blue Note and to other Manhattan jazz clubs. Lee is about five-feet six-inches tall and has a mustache and small beard. He wears glasses. Lee is a dedicated New York Knicks fan and has been known to plan film projects around the Knicks' basketball schedule. Lee is unusual in the filmmaking business in that he not only writes, directs, and produces, but also acts in all his films, although most of his roles are marginal. He does not consider himself an actor, but feels it creates box office appeal. Known as one of the most original and innovative filmmakers in the world, Lee presents the different facets of black culture. He will probably continue to court controversy, but with his savvy and salesmanship skills, Spike Lee will remain a significant influence in the entertainment world.

Spike Lee Jointography (up to 1996)
Feature Films
Jackie Robinson Saga: In pre-porduction -- 1997
Girl 6 -- 1996
Clockers -- 1995
Crooklyn -- 1994
Malcolm X -- 1992
Jungle Fever -- 1991
Mo' Better Blues -- 1990
Do The Right Thing -- 1989
School Daze -- 1988
She's Gotta Have It -- 1986
Executive Producer
Tales From The Hood -- 1995
New Jersey Drive -- 1995
Drop Squad -- 1994
Music Videos
Chaka Khan: Love Me Still -- 1995
Bruce Hornsby: Swing Street -- 1995
Crooklyn Dodgers: Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers -- 1995
MCAT: Oh My Precious -- 1994
Branford Marsalis: Breakfast At Denny's -- 1994
Marc Dorsey: People Make The World Go Around -- 1994
Crooklyn Dodgers: Crooklyn -- 1994
Eros Ramizotti: Cose Della Vita -- 1993
Guru: Loungin -- 1993
Bruce Hornsby: Talk Of The Town -- 1993
Naughty By Nature: Hip Hop Hurray -- 1992
Arrested Development: Revolution -- 1992
State Of Art: Beating Heart -- 1992
State Of Art: Laughing At The Years -- 1992
Prince: Money Don't Matter -- 1992
Stevie Wonder: Make Sure You're Sure -- 1992
Stevie Wonder: Gotta Have You -- 1991
Stevie Wonder: Jungle Fever -- 1991
The Home Boy Project: Do Your Dance -- 1991
Fishbone: Sunless Saturday -- 1991
Cynda Williams: Harlem Blues -- 1990
Gangstarr: Jazz Thing -- 1990
E.U.: Buck Wild -- 1989
Public Enemy: Fight The Power -- 1989
Perri Sisters: Feel So Good -- 1989
E.U.: Da Butt -- 1988
The Rays: Be Alone Tonight -- 1988
Phyliss Hyman: Be One -- 1988
Keith John: I Can Only Be Me -- 1988
Steel Pulse: Reachin Out -- 1988
Anita Baker: No One In The World -- 1987
She's Gotta Have It: 'Nola -- 1986
Miles Davis: Tutu Meledy -- 1986
Branford Marsalis: Royal Gardens -- 1986
Short Films
HBO: Real Sports "John Thompson" Coach -- 1995\
HBO: Iron Mike Tyson -- 1991
MTV: Five One Minute Spots -- 1989
Horn Of Plenty: Saturday Night Live -- 1986
Student Films (New York University)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads -- 1982
Sarah -- 1981
The Answer -- 1980
Commercials
NY Times -- 1995
Nike: Pick-Up Game -- 1995
Taco Bell: Shaquille O'Neal & Hakeem Olajowon -- 1995
Nike: Mike & Spike -- 1995
American Express: Charge Against Hunger -- 1995
Smooth Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's -- 1994
Mascot: ESPN 2 -- 1993
Tucked -- ESPN -- 1993
3 Point Line: ESPN 2 -- 1993
DORM 1-800-OPERATOR: AT&T -- 1993
Girls Night Out: AT&T -- 1993
Urban Jungle Gym: Nike -- 1992
Is It Da' Shoes Air Jordan: Nike -- 1991
Levi's 501: Butterfly Jeans Series -- 1991
En Vogue: DIET COKE -- 1991
Genie/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1991
Stay In School/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1991
Flight School/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1991
Levi's Button Fly Jeans Series: Levi's -- 1990
Opinions/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1990
Rappin/Air Jordan: Nike -- 1989
Can...Can't /Air Jordan: Nike -- 1989
Nola Air Jordan: Nike -- 1989
Hang Time/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1988
Cover/ Air Jordan: Nike -- 1988
Charles Barkely: Nike -- 1988
Jesse Jackson Drugs: New York State Primary -- 1988
Books
By Any Means Necessary: The Trials And Tribulations Of Making Malcolm X -- 1993
5 For 5 -- 1992
Mo' Better Blues -- 1991
Do The Right Thing: A Spike Lee Joint -- 1990
Uplift the Race: The Construction Of School Daze -- 1989
Spike Lee's Gotta Have It: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking -- 1988

Gordon Parks

Folk artist Gordon Roger Alexanders Buchanan Parks, born November 30, 1912 in Fort Scott, Kansas died March 7, 2006. The youngest of fifteen children, Gordon Parks was born into the devout Methodist family of Sarah Ross Parks and Andrew Jackson Parks in 1912 in Fort Scott, Kansas. It was a town "electrified with racial tension," Parks remembered. The family was dirt-poor, but the children were taught to value honor, education, and equality, as well as the importance of telling the truth. The security that Parks derived from the quiet strength of his father and his mother's love was shattered when she died during his fifteenth year. As he recalled in Voices in the Mirror, he spent the night alone with her coffin, an experience he found both "terror-filled and strangely reassuring." After his mother's death, Parks was sent to live with a sister and her husband in St. Paul, Minnesota. His high school education was cut short when, after an argument, his sister's husband threw him out of the house just before Christmas one year. Suddenly and unexpectedly on his own, Parks was forced to take a variety of temporary jobs that included playing piano in a brothel and mopping floors. As a busboy at the Hotel Lowry in St. Paul, he played his own songs on the piano there and joined a band that was on tour after the leader heard him play. Parks became interested in photography while working on the railroad. Real life and photography were often closely intertwined in Parks's work. Parks took one of his most significant photographs on his first day in the nation's capital. He called it "American Gothic, Washington, D.C.," a portrait of Mrs. Ella Watson, a black woman who had mopped floors for the government all her life, posed with a mop and broom in front of an American flag. After a day of facing racial prejudice in restaurants and stores, Parks was angry when he took the photo. As the first black in the FSA, Parks did all he could to break down racial barriers, and he had the full support of his boss, Roy Stryker. While at the FSA, Parks took documentary photographs of everyday life. He spoke of his camera as if it were a weapon, "I had known poverty firsthand, but there I learned how to fight its evil—along with the evil of racism—with a camera."

James Van Der Zee

Folk artist Jame Van Der Zee was born June 29, 1886, Lenox, Massachusetts, U.S. and died May 15, 1983, Washington, D.C.

American photographer whose portraits chronicled the Harlem Renaissance.Van Der Zee made his first photographs as a boy in Lenox, Massachusetts. By 1906 he had moved with his father and brother to Harlem in New York City, where he worked as a waiter and elevator operator. In 1915 Van Der Zee moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he took a job in a portrait studio, first as a darkroom assistant and then as a portraitist. He returned to Harlem the following year, setting up a portrait studio at a music conservatory that his sister had founded in 1911. In 1916 Van Der Zee and his second wife, Gaynella Greenlee, launched the Guarantee Photo Studio in Harlem. His business boomed during World War I, and the portraits he shot from this period until 1945 have demanded the majority of critical attention. Among his many renowned subjects were poet Countee Cullen, dancer Bill (“Bojangles”) Robinson, and black-nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Van Der Zee worked predominantly in the studio and used a variety of props, including architectural elements, backdrops, and costumes, to achieve stylized tableaux vivants in keeping with late Victorian and Edwardian visual traditions. Sitters often copied celebrities of the 1920s and '30s in their poses and expressions, and Van Der Zee retouched negatives and prints heavily to achieve an aura of glamour. Van Der Zee also created funeral photographs between the wars. These works were collected in The Harlem Book of the Dead (1978), with a forward by Toni Morrison.After World War II, Van Der Zee's fortunes declined with those of the rest of Harlem. He made ends meet with occasional commissions and with a side business in photo restoration. By the time his collection of negatives and prints was discovered by a representative of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1967, the Van Der Zees were nearly destitute. In early 1969 his photos were featured as part of the museum's successful “Harlem on My Mind” exhibition, which showcased life during the Harlem Renaissance in a variety of media.Van Der Zee won increasing attention throughout the 1970s, and, from late in that decade until his death in 1983, he photographed many celebrities and promoted his work in shows around the country. In 1993 a retrospective of his work was held at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

100 years from now, how will Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists be remembered in the history books?

The history of Hip Hop in 100 years from now will reflect the dramatic start this type music hand on the African American culture and other cultures as well. The history should also reflect the initial concept Hip Hop first started out with. Hip Hop was rap geared around the everyday issues and happenings which led to political awareness of Black America that later turned into glorifying the violence, money, sex, drugs and derogatory names to women. History will definitely reflect the gangsta rappers and probably will not say too much about about the conscious rappers who stood for change and wanted to make a difference.

Is Hip Hop Poison?

Hip Hop is not poison to the minds of the realists. Hip Hop has crossed over many barriers including genders and ethnicities. Hip Hops has raised awareness to the world of the social issues African Americans face on a daily basis. Regardless of what type of music we listen to today whether it is Hip Hop, Rock and Roll, Country and Blues we must teach our youths that music is strictly a form of entertainment and not all of it is reality. We must teach our children the difference in fantasy and reality; the difference between right and wrong including the consequences surrounding their decisions. Many artists in the early 60s (i.e. Little Richard, Elvis Pressley, KISS) were blasted for their music and it too also was labeled as being poison to the mind of youths. We must remind our youths that all forms of music is strictly entertainment and not reality.

Is Hip Hop Dead, dying a slow death of very much alive?

In my opinion, Hip Hop is very much alive but is slowly dying of a slow death. If you listen the music that is now being played, one would think that Hip Hop is definitely dying because everyone is singing about the same thing money, sex and violence. Majority of the lyrics have no meaning nor concepts. It is clear to say the lyrics have been "dumbed down" so the most common individual without a lot of intellect can identify with. Some of the lyrics contain derogatory comments about women, promoting drug usage and elicit sexual material. These types of lyrics can become very impressionable to young minds believing this is a way to live. Over half of the rappers who rap about this gangsta lifestyle does not live this type of lifestyle. The media continues to glorify this lifestyle by pushing this type of material in every outlet (i.e. television, movies, radio, etc.). By doing this, the social conscious rappers (i.e. Common, KRS-One, Arrested Development and Mos Def) are being pushed away from the mainstream outlets. Again, yes Hip Hop is dying of a slow death.

Is Hip Hop a Culture?

According to the American Heritage dictionay culture is defined as the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Given this definition, it is clear that Hip Hop is a culture. Some of the identifiers of Hip Hop are language (slang/ebonics), attire (oversized clothes), music (rap) and mentality (baller/player). Hip Hop is a culture that seems to influence and expose the very young to a destructive behavior. Although Hip Hop started out as rappers rapping about everyday common issues that evolved into the social issues of the black community which was believed to become a social concise wakeup call for black america but it was ignored by many. Now many rappers mainly rap about their fame and fortune (bling, bling status) which many youths admire and immulate.