1. HARLEM RENAISSANCE 1920’s – 1930’s

2. Aaron Douglas (1898-1979) He painted murals for public buildings and produced illustrations and cover designs for many black publications. He founded the Art Department at Fisk University and taught for twenty nine years, in Nashville, TN. Aaron Douglas completed these sketches in preparation for a mural he painted under WPA sponsorship for the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. The four-panel series Aspects of Negro Life tracks the journey of African Americans from United States and from liberation after the Civil War to life in the modern city.

3. Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1988) Lois Jones attended the School of Museum of Fine Art, Boston, during a time of strong discrimination against African Americans. She entered her works into exhibitions that did not recognize African American artist by having white friends deliver the paintings. In other cases, prizes awarded to her were taken away and given to her white competitors. Despite these challenges Jones prevailed as an artist. "Mine is a quiet explorations quest for new meanings in color, texture and design. Even though I sometimes portray scenes of poor and struggling people, it is a great joy to paint." -Lois Mailou Jones

4. Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) He was the first mainstream African American artist. His success began at the age of 24, and lasted until he died, in 2000. Lawrence is best known for his "Migration" series of paintings, where he shows the migration of blacks from Africa, to the United States. This series focuses mainly on their history in the south. Throughout his life, he won many awards and a lot of recognition for his works.

5. Romare Bearden (1911-1988) Bearden's early work focused on unity and cooperation within the African- American community. After a period during the 1950s when he painted more abstractly, this theme reemerged in his collage works of the 1960s, when Bearden became a founding member of the Harlem-based art group known as The Spiral, formed to discuss the responsibility of the African- American artist in the struggle for civil rights. A collage artist

6. How/ why do you think the arts are an effective means through which individuals and groups can express their history, their frustrations and their hopes for the future. Give contemporary examples. Answer this question in your sketchbook! ATLEAST A PARAGRAPH!!!