#blacklives

“I have always wanted to tell my story, or, more to the point, my side of the story.” – Faith Ringgold.

Faith Ringgold is a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, writer, teacher, and lecturer. Born 1930 in Harlem, New York, Ringgold began her artistic career as a painter in the 1950s.

During the early 1960s Ringgold traveled in Europe. She created her first political paintings, “The American People” Series from 1963 to 1967. This is when Ringgold began to tell “her side of the story” through her art - her lived experience with racial injustice as a black woman in the 1960s. The exhibition “American People, Black Light” showcased these  early paintings of the 1960s.

“James Baldwin had just published ‘The Fire Next Time,’ Malcom X was talking about us ‘loving our black selves,’ and Martin Luther King Jr. was leading marches and spreading the word. All over the country and the world people were listening to these black men. I felt called upon to create my own vision of the black experience we were witnessing … I had something to add—the visual depiction of the way we are and look. I wanted my painting to express this moment I knew was history. I wanted to give my woman’s point of view to this period.”

In addition to paintings, Ringgold also created soft sculptures, masks, and story quilts, for which she is best known today.

Image 1: Front cover featuring “Black Light Series #1, Big Black”, 1967, Oil on canvas, 30 1/4”x 42 1/4” 

Image 2: “Black Light Series #1: Big Black” and “Black Light Series #2: Man”, 1967, Oil on canvas, 30 1/16” x 24 1/8”

Today, all three defendants in the trial of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, were found guilty of felony murder. All three men will now face hate-crime charges in federal court in February. Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown, co-founders of Black Voters Matter, who supported local protests with the Transformative Justice Coalition and organizers on-the-ground, issued the following statement in response to the verdict:

“Every now and again our justice system gets it right. In the case of three white men who racially profiled, hunted and murdered 25 year old, Ahmaud Arbery, a jury of 11 white men and women, and one Black man, handed down a guilty verdict for slaughtering a man who was jogging while Black in his South Georgia neighborhood. This outcome is due in large part to the Arbery family whose relentless desire to seek justice for their son propelled the case forward.

“In fact, just as Mamie Till-Mobley insisted that the media publish photos of her murdered son, Emmett Till, 65 years ago to raise awareness and support for a trial, so did the Arbery family through their insistence on releasing the video of their son being murdered to the public. It was that act of transparency that really made this trial possible.

“However, much like the trial of George Floyd’s murderer, where the state attorney had to step in to prosecute the case, it’s very telling that the only way to get justice for Arbery — in a community that is 55% Black — was to take it out of the hands of local prosecutors, who had already demonstrated their refusal to prosecute the case fairly. A clear reminder that local elections continue to play an important role in the lives of Black voters.

“Furthermore, the defense’s case, fueled by racially-charged language, was deplorable, seeking to dehumanize Arbery at every step. Part of the ongoing demand for justice should include holding these attorneys accountable for their actions.

“But with all this said, we know that Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery will never get back their son.

“BVM stands in solidarity with Arbery’s family and the Brunswick community who supported them. We know this verdict is an indicator of how strong the will of the people is and how we can bring about change when we work together in pursuit of justice.”