Tag Archives: African-Americans

1776: Equally as Precious to a Black Man

Posted on July 4, 2021 by corvusfugit

In 1776, Lemuel Haynes, a veteran of the American Revolution and the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister, wrote this response to the Declaration of Independence: Liberty Further Extended: Or Free Thoughts on … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 18th Century, African-Americans, American Revolution, Civil Rights, Lemuel Haynes, Rights, Slavery, USA | Leave a comment

1953: Description

Posted on July 3, 2021 by corvusfugit

A description of what we would now call a depressive episode from a 1953 story by Jean Ferry, “The Traveler with Luggage”: As a result of incidents still obscure to me, I suffered an absolutely atrocious mental breakdown in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1950's, 2020's, 20th Century, 21st Century, African-Americans, Art, Books, Damon Davis, France, Jean Ferry, Mental Health, Sculpture, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

1982: Press Operators

Posted on June 25, 2021 by corvusfugit

Russ Marshall: Press Operators, GM Fisher Body Trim Plant, Fort Street, Detroit, Michigan (1982, printed 1997)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1980's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Art, Cars, Detroit, Factories, Labor, Photography, Russ Marshall, USA, Women | Leave a comment

1941: A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

Posted on March 15, 2021 by corvusfugit

Russell Lee: Candy stand run by Negro. Southside, Chicago, Illinois (1941) A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1940's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Chicago, John Keats, Judy Garland, Oz, Photography, Russell Lee, USA | Leave a comment

1959: Satchmo Talking

Posted on October 18, 2020 by corvusfugit

Collages by jazz great Louis Armstrong, mostly done on reel-to-reel tape boxes. Dates on the newspapers used range from 1959 to 1971, the year of his death. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Art, Collage, Duke Ellington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Jazz, Louis Armstrong, Music, Sports | Leave a comment

1969: Better Than Those Motherfuckers

Posted on August 28, 2020 by corvusfugit

Wadsworth Jarrell: Compared to What – I Am Better Than Those Motherfuckers and They Know It (1969) My painting Compared to What: I Am Better Than Those Motherfuckers and They Know It was critiqued. The form consists of graffiti-style words … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1960's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Art, Music, Painting, The Beatles, USA, Wadsworth Jarrell | Leave a comment

1978: Superman vs. Muhammad Ali

Posted on August 8, 2020 by corvusfugit

Who would win in a fight—Superman or Muhammad Ali? The two duked it out in a 1978 comic. An evil space alien named Rat’Lar brings an armada to earth and claims that Earthlings’ warlike ways pose a threat to his … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1970's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Comics, Muhammad Ali, Neal Adams, Science Fiction, Sports, Superman, USA | Leave a comment

1939: Revolt

Posted on June 1, 2020 by corvusfugit

Hale Woodruff’s murals commemorating the revolt on the Spanish slave ship Amistad were installed in Talladega College’s Savery Library in 1939, the centennial of the uprising. The first mural depicts the moment when, on or about July 1, 1839, kidnapped … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1830's, 1930's, 19th Century, 20th Century, Africa, African-Americans, Art, Hale Woodruff, Law, Libraries, Murals, Painting, Resistance, Ships & Sailing, Sierra Leone, Slavery, USA | Leave a comment

1967: Alice in Wonderland

Posted on April 29, 2020 by corvusfugit

The 1967 report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders opens with a now-famous conclusion: “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white–separate and unequal.” The closing of the report is less well known: One of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1960's, 20th Century, African-Americans, Alice, Chicago, Civil Rights, Detroit, Film, Harlem, Kenneth B. Clark, New York City, Riots, USA | Leave a comment

1921: Beware the Ides of March

Posted on March 14, 2020 by corvusfugit

The National Association for the Promotion of Labor Unionism Among Negroes was founded in 1918 by A. Philip Randolph—the great union organizer who would later form the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters—and writer Chandler Owens; it was promoted through their … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1920's, 20th Century, A. Philip Randolph, African-Americans, Chandler Owens, Civil Rights, Labor, Socialism & Communism, Unions, USA | Leave a comment