Artists are gatekeepers of the truth. We are civilization’s radical voice,
“Lift every voice and sing, ‘till earth and heaven ring,” are the lyrics to the Black national anthem sung by young people all over the country for Black history month, but rarely do they know that the words were penned by a poet and attorney!
Every year, for Black History Month, we are fortunate to have a theme that elevates the contributions and talents of the Black diaspora in the United States. For 2024, our theme is African Americans and the Arts, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture has chosen to focus on the “Art of Resistance.” Our movements for equity and justice to combat racism and anti-Blackness has always centered and explored art, whether it is the beauty of Alvin Alley’s Revelations or the soaring oratory of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, I Have a Dream, speech.
“Black art has always existed. It just hasn’t been looked for in the right places.” Art is most recognized in its music, painting, literature, and film forms but it truly surrounds us. But, art is so much more than a trip to the museum concert hall. Black Art defines and crystalizes our movement against oppression and disenfranchisement, which includes the movement work of attorneys. James Weldon Johnson, poet and attorney, composed the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which young people sing, daily in schools across the county. Budding young attorneys look to the speeches of Michele and Barak Obama, attorneys and orators, to learn the art of persuasion. But, at its core, celebration of art, is the celebration of African American culture because, in so many ways, art uplifts and shines a light of the Black experience.
As we push forward, remember the words of the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘60s, “Ain’tnobody gonna turn us around!”
To learn more about African Americans and Art: The Art of Resistance, please join the REI for is 2024 Black History Month webinar, on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. Click here to register!
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