Via https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2017/02/02/black-history-month-2017-blogs-related-to-black-education/

Famous and not so famous African-American artists have remarkably shared portrayals of historic and modern occasions and people, cultural perspectives, and the experiences and battles of minorities through their artwork. This short article highlights the critical work of Black artists who assisted to bring African-American experiences into the elite art world. The art catches contemporary and historical experiences. Some art catches race and gender relations. Witchcrafts as a movement speaks straight to the needs and aspirations of Black America. The Black artist talks to the spiritual and cultural needs of Black individuals in their artistry.

The specialists of Black arts are inspired by a desire to confront white power structures and assert an African American cultural identity. Black arts aim to serve the neighborhood and artists.

Happy Black History Month! This year the Rediscovering Black History blog at the National Archives would like to highlight select posts from the past. This public blog was created to inform researchers, scholars, students, and anyone interested in records related to African-American history at the National Archives and Presidential Libraries on the vast amount of textual, electronic, photographs, and special media available for use. For the past four years, NARA employees, student interns, and independent researchers have written informative and insightful blogs on the black experience through the use of our holdings. The highlighted blog posts for the month of February will center around popular themes. Today’s theme is black education.

Howard University, Graduating Student (NAID 26174879)

The blogs relating to black education in the United States are of special interest to researchers and scholars across the country, as they can relate to concerns surrounding education today. The records in the National Archives on this topic contain information on federal funding, studies on vocational training, legislation regarding equal access, and other issues of the government’s involvement with public education. Our blogs on black education covered several issues, including the desegregation of public schools, innovators in black education, and life on black college campuses.

• “George Washington Carver and the Agricultural Experiment Station at the Tuskegee Institute” by Mary Kate Eckles
• “Ambrose Caliver, A Leader in 20th Century Black Education” by Kate Palm
• “Black College Life in the New Deal: A Google Cultural Institute Exhibit” by Netisha Currie
• “A Special Memorandum from 1933: “Social Adjustment of Negroes in the United States”” by Blossom Ojukwu
• “The Prince Edward County Free School Association” by Emanuel Riley
• “Federal Records Relating to the Brown v. Board of Education Case” by Tina L. Ligon
• “Educating African Americans: A Brief Look into Historically Black Colleges in America” by Michael Arzate
• “Morgan v. Hennigan: Desegregation of Boston Public Schools” by Tina L. Ligon

Black artists stress racial pride, an appreciation of African heritage, and a commitment to produce works that reflect the culture and experiences of black people. In each era, occasions of the day galvanize black artists to produce, arrange, and change the world.

Via https://play.podtrac.com/APM-HistoricallyBlack/play.publicradio.org/rss/d/podcast/apmreports/historicallyblack/2016/09/19/historicallyblack1_128.mp3

This article highlights the essential work of Black artists who assisted to bring African-American experiences into the elite art world. Black Arts as a movement speaks straight to the requirements and aspirations of Black America. The Black artist speaks to the cultural and spiritual requirements of Black individuals in their artistry.

The professionals of Black arts are encouraged by a desire to challenge white power structures and assert an African American cultural identity. Black arts aim to serve the neighborhood and artists.

During World War II, a labor shortage obliged the military to hire African American women with mathematical skills to help make complicated computations for warplane designs. This small team of black women faced discrimination but eventually would help NASA astronauts land on the moon. One woman whose grandmother was a “computer” helps tell the story.

Black artists highlight racial pride, a gratitude of African heritage, and a commitment to produce works that show the culture and experiences of black individuals. In each era, events of the day galvanize black artists to produce, organize, and transform the world.

Via https://blackamericaweb.com/2014/09/11/world-famous-painter-highlights-the-grace-of-black-women-with-new-work/

This short article highlights the critical work of Black artists who helped to bring African-American experiences into the elite art world. Black Arts as a movement speaks straight to the needs and aspirations of Black America. The Black artist speaks to the spiritual and cultural requirements of Black people in their artistry.

The practitioners of Black arts are encouraged by a desire to face white power structures and assert an African American cultural identity. Black arts aim to serve the community and artists.

Cameras followed Kehinde Wiley, a New York-based portrait painter, as he decided to explore the inner and outer beauty of Black women for his latest project.

Kehinde is known for his creating portraits of young Black men, showcasing them in a way that mainstream society rarely does: strong, noble, soulful and heroic. He sets them against and even places them into classical-inspired pieces like a portrait modeled after Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps. It’s been the main focus of his work for years up until now.

Recently, Kehinde decided to color outside the lines of his comfort zone by creating pieces with Black women as the subject. The whole process was captured for PBS in a documentary titled “Kehinde Wiley: Economy of Grace.”

Through his new work, Kehinda hoped to explore the idea of conventional beauty in the 21st century and expand it.

“In this new body of work, I wanted to look at women in the history of painting much in the way I looked at masculinity in the history of painting,” Kehinde said in the documentary, which aired on PBS last week. “What I really want to do in the economy of grace is go directly to the heart of absolute glamour, but also allowing fantasy and play to come into the picture.”

Much like with his male subjects, Kehinde scouted his new subjects on the street. For the project, he found women in Brooklyn, but not everyone was onboard with the idea. The ladies that did decide to participate, though, were in for an extraordinary treat as they got to wear clothes designed by Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci.

This didn’t just offer a sense of juxtaposition to the pieces, it allowed the subjects to wrap themselves up in a garment they might otherwise never have access to. However, these pieces, that were designed specifically for the subjects also brought the luxury brand outside of its usual size and fit parameters.

In order for Kehinde to really capture their essence, he got to know the ladies. What he came up with was breathtaking. The finished works, he notes, “are a celebration of Black women, creating a rightful place for them within art history, which has to date been an almost exclusively white domain.” See the art come to life and watch the full documentary in the video above!

Black artists stress racial pride, a gratitude of African heritage, and a dedication to produce works that show the culture and experiences of black individuals. In each age, occasions of the day galvanize black artists to develop, arrange, and transform the world.