Assignment task:
I would like for students to write their short essays (half a page to one page) on the ideas of resistance, liberation, and imagination: (A.) How have African American artists used their art to resist and fight against racism, discrimination, and White Supremacy? How have African American artists used their art to resist and fight against racist stereotypes (Jezebel, Big Momma, Sapphire, Uncle Tom, Sambo, Buck)? Don't just list the stereotypes again. Go into detail explaining how these stereotypes have harmed the Black community and how African American artists have attempted to counteract them? (B.) How have African American artists used their art to present ideas of liberation to people in their community? How have African American artists used their art to think about ways in which liberation can be activated and achieved? (Consider the art of the Black Panther Party. By the way, don't just mention the Black Panther Party. Really look up the artwork and provide commentary on what the images mean to you). What do the images represent? How did these images of resistance and liberation empower the Black community? (C.) How have African American artists used their art to inspire people in their community to imagine a reality in which African American people are present in the future? (Think about Afrofuturism)