Welcome to another addition to my series on Promoting Racial Equality Through Art, in which I profile writers and artists who use their art to promote racial equality.
I alternate between writers and artists each month. If there is a writer whom you would like to nominate for next month’s post, please don’t hesitate to do so.
I did not post a P.R.E.T.A. post last month, because I was working on my NaNo project and did not feel that I could reasonably dedicate the amount of time and research necessary.
Faith Ringgold grew up in New York, during the Harlem Renaissance. She was born on October 8, 1930, to Andrew and Willi Jones and was the youngest of three children. She married Robert Wallace in 1952, whom she later divorced after he developed a heroin addiction. Faith remarried to Burdette Ringold ten years later. Her two daughters are Michelle and Barbara Wallace.
View some of Faith Ringgold‘s artwork here
Her passion for art began when she suffered from asthma as a young girl and had to stay home from school. Her mother, a fashion designer, taught her to sew. She emerged as a political artist while teaching in Europe, with a series of paintings titled American People.
Her paintings, story quilts, and children’s books are pictures of everyday life in black America. Faith’s artwork is inspired by her mother’s story quilts, Tibetan tankas, and Nigerian masks, and motivated by a desire to show the civil rights movement from a female perspective.
Quotes
“Art is a form of experience of the person, the place, the history of the people, and as black people, we are different. We hail from Africa to America, so the culture is mixed, from the African to the American. We can’t drop that. It’s reflected in the music, the dance, the poetry, and the art.”
“I have always wanted to tell my story – or, more to the point, my side of the story.”
“I don’t think you can create art out of anger; it has to come out of some form of understanding. You have to feel good about who you are and that you could do something to change things.”
Sources
Faith Ringgold uses her art to promote racial equality and you can too! Another way to help in the fight against racism is signing petitions. Here are a few that need your support.
- Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition
- Justice for Elijah McClain Petition
- Petition to charge the cops who shot Jacob Blake
- Justice for Daniel Prude Petition
- Justice for Aiyana Stanley-Jones Petition
- Justice for Tamir Rice
Thanks for reading, friend!
Will says
Great art! 👍
ElizabethAnne Andrews says
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.