These stories include a range of artistic pursuits, from Black art exhibitions launched during the pandemic touching moments like Denzel Washington paying for Chadwick Boseman’s summer acting program when he was a student at Howard University.
Arts
The Melrose Plantation Cookbook was first published in 1956 by artists Clementine Hunter and Francois Mignon. Clementine Hunter folk artist and farm laborer often depicted images of life on Melrose Plantation in her artwork. The cookbook features her 31 recipes, some of which are original while others are spins on traditional Creole dishes, as well as some of her illustrations. The book is a compilation of Creole oral food history and a symbol of black artistic empowerment.
Ella Baker was an instrumental civil rights activist who played important roles in the NAACP and SCLC amongst other organizations. She organized voter registration campaigns and helped fundraise to fight Jim Crow laws in the South. Ella’s Song, by the all-black women's group Sweet Honey in the Rock, was written in remembrance of Ella Baker and upholds her willingness to fight injustice. The lyrics issue a call to action and a reminder that the fight for equality is a long-term ordeal.
The Harlem Writers Guild was a collection of Black writers that would meet together to discuss constructive criticism of their works. The Guild allowed black writers to develop their crafts as well and was a vehicle to push for the publication and spread of black literary works that were marginalized in the larger literary world.
Created to raise awareness and provide emergency aid to covid relief funds, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins produced “Come Together” in 2020, a song featuring gospel greats from Karen Sheard to Kirk Franklin. The money raised from "Come Together" will support two major organizations - "Compassion International" and "MusiCares Covid-19 relief fund," which provides support to musicians, children and families worldwide.
Stevie Wonder, as an avid supporter of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his own version of the happy birthday song in tribute to MLK to support the push to make his birthday a national holiday. With a funky beat and lyrics commemorating Dr. King and his actions, the song came to stand as not only a birthday song but also as a civil rights anthem and song of hope for black people across the country.
In 1972, Florian Jenkins, a black artist was hired by Dartmouth College to paint a series of murals in the El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Temple. Jenkins designed the themes of each mural with Dartmouth students, taking into consideration the life of Malcolm X and the struggles that black people continue to face in life. The murals range in subject matter, from tributes to the vast indigenous cultures and traditions of Africa to images of people and events from Malcolm X’s life. The murals are a strong visual tribute to the radical black progression initiated by Malcolm X as well as the strong cultural heritage all black people hail from.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened to the public on April 26, 2018, is the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence. Set on a six-acre site, the memorial uses sculpture, art, and design to contextualize racial terror. The site includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to symbolize thousands of racial terror lynching victims in the United States and the counties and states where this terrorism took place.
Urban Bush Women (UBW) began in 1984 to support artists, activists, and their communities via performance and community engagement. The organization uses dance to communicate stories of the African diaspora from a woman-centered perspective. UBW utilizes performance and artist development to celebrate the diasporic experience to foster community and build trusting relationships amongst people.
When he was a student at Howard University, the late Chadwick Boseman could not afford to cover his tuition in the midsummer program at the British American Drama Academy. Denzel Washington covered his tuition so that he was able to attend, and Chadwick Boseman later famously said that “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.”
Throughout the pandemic, DJ D-Nice has been operating “Club Quarantine,” Instagram Live sessions that draw audiences up to 100,000 to hear him spin songs from various eras of Black popular music. These sessions last up to 9 hours, and have featured illustrious guests from Michelle Obama to Oprah Winfrey. Black music brings people together, and Club Quarantine is an act of care that returns a sense of normalcy to people's days.