African American Heroism : Art By Kehinde Wiley

The Negro Digs Up His Past by Arthur Schomburg is an article he wrote in 1925, in which he complaint that somehow through the years African American history has been questioned and denied as many claim that Africans have no history at all. He uses this paper to illustrate the importance of recording the collective accomplishments of African Americans and that we must at all costs save any evidence, so that things like this do not happen again in the future. He wants to make sure to leave no place for doubts that African Americans have a history and is irrefutable in the eyes of skeptics and the world. According to Schomburg, “Though it is orthodox to think of America as the one country where it is unnecessary to have a past, what is luxury for the nation as a whole becomes a prime social necessity for the Negro(Schomburg 231).” He emphasizes that blacks have to dig deep into their own history in order to hold their own against the current oppression. He wants to set the record straight and restore the history that was omitted, the history that was denied to them, a history that has somehow been stolen from them forever.

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

Meta Warrick Fuller’s sculpture “Ethiopia Awakening” served as a metaphoric yearning for African culture, a symbolic image of emancipation, an awakening of African Americans diaspora identity, resurgence of Fuller’s artistic career and as a self-portrait of Fuller. The Progressive era, from 1890 to 1920, forms the backdrop to Fuller’s life and art. This period has come to symbolize the reform efforts of the middle class. White middle class progressives sought to reengineer industry and government, pushed for economic and social reforms. The Progressive era was also a time of intense contradictions and ambiguities. Race was the blind spot of white progressives. 1 At the turn of the twentieth-century African Americans

In general appropriation in the art movement of postmodernism, borrows, copies, and alters preexisting images and objects to challenge traditional notions in art. In artist Kehinde Wiley newest art exhibit, “Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic,” he appropriate cultural images, and characters from one context and places them it in another. Using juxtaposed inversions to challenge traditional elitist, white male-dominated, “high” historical art culture. As a self-identified homosexual African American man raised in Los Angeles in the 80’s, it is evident a significant part of Kehinde Wiley artists inventions derive from his own personal experiences and beliefs. By appropriate white

The White house is a symbol of the American democracy. The main attractions here include information and artifacts about the first families, home furnishings and social events. Visitors to the executive mansion must reserve a ticket in advance. In spite of security checks, visitors are allowed to carry cell-phones and

Injustice is a big problem in today’s society. Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he addressed many forms of injustices that was present then and continue to be present in today’s world. Martin Luther King did a lot of things that still effect today. He got in trouble for some things as well; such as like protesting how blacks were treated. He was arrested and was sent to Birmingham City Jail. He wrote a letter to defend the strategies of nonviolent resistance to racism. He employs the use of pathos, ethos, and logos to support his argument that nonviolence resistance is definitive. Based on the pathos, ethos, and logos present in this letter, the article is overall effective to this argument.

“Street art is omnipresent in urban streets and is a rish source of inspiration for artistic creativity. . . It possesses the aesthetic voices of the ordinary and enables resistance for the marginalized. Banksy’s street art, in particular, can guide students to think about various social and political issues and to reflect upon the immediate, if not unjust, world in which they live, to transform that world, and to

It was the most significant era of cultural expression in the nation’s history by bringing together artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. The leaders and their artistic contributions brought notice to African-American works of art, challenged stereotypes, and began instilling a sense of pride and determination in the blacks of that era. This left a lasting impression on culture in the United States, Europe, and Africa (Wall). This also improved social consciousness led to civil rights movement (“A New”). The works and successes of that time continue to inspire future

African-American history are those events that started with the first slave ships from Africa to the Caribbean Islands and carry through their journey as a people both individually and collectively to today's societies across the Americas.

As Americans, we are privileged with diverse experiences. With this comes a perceived understanding of many cultures and their influences but in fact full cultural literacy is impossible to achieve.

The time period that the fiction sets is the 1920s, when the society was experiencing significant transformations in every aspect of life. The Progressive Movement, which aimed at eliminating various means of political corruption and illegal business practices, had just abated. Harlem Renaissance, a new element of the 1920s, took place in City of New York and its effect swept across the country. Harlem Renaissance, a rebirth of African American culture and art, exerted substantial influence on black people, regardless of the social status and wealth they had. Nevertheless, such splendid cultural explosion could not conceal the limitations and inequality of the 1920s. Gender and race restrictions were not uncommon across the nation. Based on her own experience as a mulatto, Nella Larsen showcased the struggling and miserable life of mixed-blood people.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “African American,” as an American who has African and especially black African ancestry. Being born in the United States and being American I have always been classified as African American, because my skin was dark, my hair was tightly coiled and because my parents were black. As a black child growing up here believed I was African American because my parent were African. I knew Africa from the Lion King and National Geography. I knew of the music because it played on a loop in our Georgia home, when I was trying to watch Disney or Nickelodeon. I knew of the food, because I was made to eat it instead of McDonalds. So to me, Africa and Africans where distant, it belonged in the world of fairytales.

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

I do believe that any obstacle or disadvantage can turn into something good. I know this because people learn from their mistakes. Some people give up or lose hope when they are encountering an obstacle. Anything can be make up by thinking or a wise decision.

Art is something that can only be achieved with the manipulation of the imagination. This is successful when using objects, sounds, and words. Richard Wright and Amira Baraka brought the power of art into the limelight. Wright’s perception of art was for it to be used as a means of guidance, one that could uplift the Negro towards bigger and better goals. Baraka’s perspective of art was for it to be used as an active agent, one that could kill and then imprint society permanently. Baraka and Wright both wanted the Negro to see that there was a much brighter future ahead of them. Both wanted art to leave a stain, a stain that could not be easily erased, washed, or bleached. Both believed that Black Art had no need to be silent but instead daring.