#black documentarians

[rjeldridge]

West 4th Street Courts, 2021

[rjeldridge]

Cam Be (2017) Chicago by RJ Eldridge

[5ive5ifths]

“Black art: the physically experienced proof that the African mind can do more than submit to its counter, it’s oppressor. Black photographs serve as proof that we are more than sold objects. We are figures of beauty. We are symbols of what mankind looked like before postmodernism. Genuine black music serves as proof that we created rhythm. We created the beat. We created soul. Black art is symbolic of our people overcoming the struggle of living a life not meant for us. Black art is the physical form of freedom within this country and within ourselves” - @simplicituniverse 

What an apt definition. Our art is evidence of who we are, what we’ve done, and how we’ve grown. It’s important that we know that our art is not just a pastime, but it is our culture. It is what we had when we had nothing, and it what we have regardless of our prosperity. Black life has fluctuated since our arrival in America, but our creative drive has not. Just as our physical efforts built the foundation of this country, our creative energy has given life to American art throughout its history. Our art is our identity.

-5/5