![]() Maya Angelou took lessons that she learned from the works of Fredrick Douglass to conceive her own understandings of the realities she was faced with. The image serves as a parody of Grant Wood’s iconic painting “American Gothic.” Works like Gordon’s and Maya Angelou’s that show the turbulent times of the Civil Rights Era-stories of turmoil in the south told through the lens of a black artist allow people of any race to connect with the human experience of liberation. ![]() “American Gothic” ultimately depicts her with her broom in hand, standing somewhat begrudgingly in front of the American flag. The inspiration for “American Gothic” came when he met Ella Watson who was working at the Farm Security Administration in DC. When looking at art created during the Jim Crow Era, the work that comes to mind is that of Gordon Parks and his photojournalist portrait titled “American Gothic.”įaced with racism in the segregated south, he set out to document older African Americans that were willing to share their daily experiences with these injustices. If we look at moments in history, we don’t have to look far to find the art created to reflect and respond to society at that time. Here in stanza two, she describes the reality of those living in poverty in a persistent system that creates a pattern out of people.Īngelou was not the only artist to document the impression that The Civil Rights Movement left on everyone, especially artists. The black community is still subjugated to segregation and poverty today, and Maya set out to explore both of these systemic issues in her 1971 poem “Harlem Hopscotch.” And many artists, whether they were masters of their craft or not, explored this narrative in their work, seeking to understand the interconnectedness of reality and circumstance. Poverty was not a foreign concept in the ‘60s many black communities were not permitted access to well-paying jobs and often suffered an abundant amount of racism at work. The Civil Rights Movement not only declared the need for basic human rights, but also for economic rights. His wings are clipped and his feet are tied She explores the idea that even in our freedom, the cage of racism and inequality burdens our communities:īut a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams Later in “Caged Bird,” Maya writes both about the spark of The Civil Rights Movement and her traumatic experience with rape in her early years. Art is an opportunity to document our societal history just as much as it is an opportunity to express emotion and explore trauma. The revolutionary act of creating art explores the depth of the human experience and our shared experiences. The “free bird” she writes about represents liberated people celebrating their independence and can be found in the fifth stanza:Īnd the trade winds soft through the sighing treesĪnd the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn Though Maya Angelou’s work spans past The Civil Rights Movement, her poetry has always been revolutionary, especially her famous poem, “Caged Bird”, in which she explores the liberation of black people from slavery. ![]() The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s brought forth many artist-revolutionaries, using their work to protest systems requiring change, including poet Maya Angelou. ![]() ![]() I can only assume the goal of such conversation is resolution-or in many cases revolution. I remember studying James Baldwin and how he recognized his responsibility as a writer and artist to witness the world as it stands-to raise questions and bring awareness to the need for conversation. ![]()
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