How Artists Have Championed the Black Liberation Movement for Over a Century

Gordon Parks, Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1963. Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation.

In an essay for Dazed, Miss Rosen takes readers through a crash course of artists, from the 1800s to present, who have created work that advocates for Black liberation and life. This article puts artists from different decades in conversation with one another, while drawing ties between their practices and lived experiences.

"We all have a role to play. Now is the time to make that start. Question your teachings, and why you may not know of Black artists who have transformed the nation without properly receiving their due. We present to you just a few of the extraordinary works made over the past 160 years, a mere sprinkling of genius that underlies the Black American experience."