“Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread, and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.” - Shirley Chisholm, Unbought and Unbossed
There are those that say racism no longer exists in our country. Slavery is over, and everyone has equal opportunities now because the government adopted the Civil Rights Act in 1957. Some even say people of color (POC) have special rights because of groups like the National Urban League and the NAACP, both of which are meant to empower black Americans and other people of color. The latest out of Florida even touts the benefits of slavery for those that were enslaved. However, a look at the education system, the criminal justice system, or poverty-stricken areas in our nation reveals obvious, even glaring, disparities based on race. Maps of race, incarcerations, country of origin, education, cost of college, and poverty all show the same trends: this may not be the great country of equal opportunity for all, after all. Many people still struggle from the inequalities in our society and artists have been portraying it for hundreds of years in our country.
Introduction
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for an individual is much like the hierarchy of needs for a culture. First and foremost, food, shelter, and safety must be obtained and stable. When a person or culture spends every day working for and providing the basic needs of life, there is little time left for self-actualization and self-expression, much less the development and maturation of artistic skills. It is with this consideration that viewers can better understand the advancement in art across the globe. Cavemen's drawings were crude and basic because they didn’t have time for art classes or to leisurely use their time to improve their cave painting skills. All of this does not mean that art is not created in times and places of scarcity or poverty; it does mean however that fewer artistic craftsmen and fewer formally educated artists will likely exist. Personally, I can’t help but think of all the art that does not exist because of this and it saddens me. In times of prosperity and stability, the arts flourish, even if the wealth is not equally distributed throughout society. Not just in painting and sculpture, but also in music, writing, fashion, architecture, and even cuisine. Many remarkable things came from the European Renaissance, largely paid for and enjoyed by rich white families who were supporters of the arts.
If you look for art in the Antebellum of the United States, that is before the Civil War, you will find many examples of elegant furniture and fine paintings made for wealthy patrons, but you will be hard-pressed to find artworks created by enslaved people. On its website, the National Humanities Center states that enslaved people had to “create the opportunity to create” and “Perhaps southern archives hold drawings created by slaves in the private papers of antebellum slaveholders, there to be discovered by researchers.” Few possessions from enslaved people exist today due to living conditions, materials that would have been used to create and preserve art, and the lack of interest of slave owners in preserving such items if not for personal benefit or use. Enslaved people that did show a talent for the arts may have been used to create art for white families, such as David Drake, a potter enslaved in South Carolina until his death in 1863. Drake would write messages and his name on his jars and pots at a time when being literate could mean death for an enslaved person. However, his literacy is the main reason so many pieces can be ascribed to him today, and since so many of his pieces still exist it is assumed that his owner knew of his literacy. There are examples of art from black artists of the time, but much of it is likely nameless, has been handed down between generations and kept private, or are not known as being work from an enslaved person at all (for example: quilts, cookware, ironwork).
In this unit students will be introduced to wood engravings from the Antebellum period, murals from the Harlem Renaissance and Black Wall Street/Tulsa Race Massacre, and collage work by contemporary black artists representing their race and culture. Each time period reflects the last. Each new era is growing from the struggles of the last. This is the growth of the nation as displayed by the people that helped build it. When introducing this unit to students I want them to understand this is not representative of all black people, everywhere, but images and stories of real struggles and the legacies these struggles have stamped on the art world (and the world at large) to gain independence and equality, and the security of self-actualization and self-expression.
Background of the classroom environment:
My students attend public school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Niche.com last year our school saw 927 students in grades 9-12. Our school services grades 6-12 with 1,679 students according to the school website.1 We do have a high Hispanic population, at about 50% of the students. The remaining population is about 30% black, 15% white, and the rest being “other”. A substantial number of our Hispanic students are English Language Learners. I am teaching upper-level Art next year including Art 2 for high school students, Advanced Art 2, and AP Art, while in the past I have taught 6-12th grades Art 1.
Pedagogical Philosophy
Arts integration was the foundation and focus of my master’s degree in education, after getting my bachelor’s in fine arts, and evolved while teaching 4th-6th grade general education classes. Arts integration continues to be foundational in my teaching high school art. My own thirst for knowledge makes me enjoy mixing core class curriculum materials into my art lessons. Students are more likely to find an interest in cross-curricular lessons, to connect prior knowledge, and make the personal connections that are all needed to retain information with integrated learning.
Rationale
I am a middle-aged, white, upper-middle-class teacher teaching in a low- to medium-income school with most minority students. While I do believe students can benefit from teachers of their own race or culture, it is not always possible or feasible. I have a responsibility to add to and improve the equity, fairness, and value of my students’ education in any way possible. Race relations and teaching about culture is a sensitive area. We, as teachers, must ensure that students are learning the history of our world and our own specific areas to include the state, city, neighborhoods, and essentially their world. I wish students to see how much the world has changed and grown since we became a nation and how they can change the world around them and grow with it.
Sometimes, point of view is everything. How can you understand starvation if you have always been well fed? How can you recognize trauma in others when you have never been traumatized? How can you relate to racism or prejudice if you have never been discriminated against? There are some things that some people will never fully grasp, whether that is due to ignorance or a lack of sympathy, but as teachers we have a duty to help students recognize, if not relate to, the struggles that other people face. Imparting empathy is as much part of my job as disseminating information. I hope to do both in this unit.
The unit will be used in my high school Art 2 classroom but could easily be used in lower-level art classes. It could also easily be adapted for History or English classes by tweaking the activities and final product. The content is better suited for high school but could be used in middle school.
Comments: