Celebrating Black History Month Through Art

by Harrison Moon, Marketing Intern —

On February 10, 1976, President Gerald Ford made history. Though many local governments had already given it their official imprimatur, Ford recognized Black History Month on the federal level and issued the following statement:

“The last quarter-century has finally witnessed significant strides in the full integration of black people into every area of national life. In celebrating Black History Month, we can take satisfaction from this recent progress in the realization of the ideals envisioned by our Founding Fathers. But, even more than this, we can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

— Gerald R. Ford, Jr.

(Source: Ford Library Museum)

The month-long celebration has been nothing short of pivotal to our basic understanding of our country’s social background—and the immeasurable contributions to our national character and culture by African-Americans, which go back to long before the United States was founded. Some argue that four weeks a year may not be enough; that the observances of this special month (its opportunities for education and recognition) have, over the past 44 years, only scratched the surface of the profound contributions of African-Americans to our culture.

In fact, the influence of great African-Americans can be seen all around us, and acknowledging their importance is quintessential to the backbone of our country’s complex history. As part of our mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding through the arts, International Arts & Artists is dedicated to highlighting this extraordinary legacy. Since our founding in 1995, our exhibitions and programs have always tried to heighten viewers’ awareness of the many cultural legacies that have woven their richness through our nation and the world, like bright threads in a vast tapestry. These, of course, include African-American artists and the profound cultural history their work represents.

As featured in IA&A’s Hechinger Collection, Jacob Lawrence’s remarkable tableaux of The Great Migration take viewers through one of the most influential periods of African-American history. In the wake of rampant economic and racial disenfranchisement in the Jim Crow South, a prolonged period of northward African-American migration flourished in the years after World War I. This mass movement of African-Americans away from the farms and rural communities of the South marked a new era of industrialization, cultural revolution, and workforce diversification. Lawrence’s 1974 lithograph The Builders evokes the experience of thousands of newly-arrived African-Americans who had to adapt rapidly to a (seemingly) new country. Black migrants were a pivotal factor in the rise of Northern industrialization, and their new urban presence ushered a profound cultural clash as well as significant socioeconomic changes in the cities. Lawrence’s prints can be seen in IA&A’s traveling exhibitions ReTooled (2014-2020) and Making Your Mark (2021-2023).

As African-American literature and art entered the late 20th century, black culture saw its most precipitous rise since the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. This latest rebirth of African-American culture yielded a plethora of vibrant art forms, including a new dance and theater scene. From 2014 to 2018, IA&A toured an exhibition organized in partnership with The Dance Theatre of Harlem, the California African American Museum, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts featured a rich array of costumes, photographs, and set pieces from the iconic Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since its founding in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, the legendary theatre company has vaulted to the front ranks of the American ballet world, soundly dispelling the notion that classical ballet could not be performed by those of African descent. With its groundbreaking productions, stylistic innovations, and tours—more than 40 countries and 250 cities around the world—the Dance Theatre of Harlem has blazed a peerless reputation as a dynamic cultural force to be reckoned with.