As the United States entered the 1950s and 1960s, African American artists found themselves at the center of a society in turmoil. The Civil Rights Movement had gained national momentum, challenging systemic racism, segregation, and injustice. As activists marched in the streets and legislation began to shift, a new generation of Black artists responded on canvas, in photographs, and through printmaking—with works that were bold, confrontational, and unapologetically political.

Artists during this period used their work to demand visibility, to counter centuries of racist imagery, and to declare Black identity as powerful, complex, and worthy of center stage. They worked both independently and in collectives such as AfriCOBRA and the Black Arts Movement (BAM), a cultural arm of the Black Power movement that aimed to develop a distinctly Black aesthetic rooted in pride, resistance, and community.

Gordon Parks: Documenting Truth Through the Lens

Few artists captured the struggle and dignity of Black life during the Civil Rights era as powerfully as Gordon Parks. A photographer, filmmaker, storyteller and poet, Parks used his camera as a weapon against injustice. His work for Life magazine brought the realities of segregation and poverty into American living rooms with a new intimacy.

One of his most iconic images is American Gothic (1942), a portrait of Ella Watson, a government cleaning woman, standing stoically with a mop and broom in front of an American flag. It is a deeply human and haunting contrast to the idealized version of American life. Parks’ photography spanned decades, documenting figures like Malcolm X as well as ordinary citizens navigating a world which often excluded them.

Elizabeth Catlett: Printmaking as Protest

Working in both the United States and Mexico, Elizabeth Catlett created powerful, graphic imagery that addressed racial injustice, Black womanhood, and social change. A master printmaker, Catlett saw art as a tool for education and liberation which she used to great effect through several decades.

Her 1946 linocut In Harriet Tubman I Helped Hundreds to Freedom is a striking tribute to the legacy of resistance, while her later print Malcolm X Speaks for Us (1969) places the Civil Rights leader’s image at the center of a composition surrounded by expressive, determined faces—especially those of women, whom Catlett believed were often left out of liberation narratives.

Charles White

Charles White’s psychologically penetrating drawings and prints are known for their emotional depth and monumental portrayal of Black subjects. Coming out of the New Negro Movement, his work combined technical mastery with a profound social conscience. White sought not only to uplift but to humanize—a quiet but insistent defiance of dehumanizing stereotypes.

In works like The Sound of Silence, White merges realism with spiritual and symbolic elements. A contemplative figure and a floating conch shell create an almost surreal stillness suggesting resilience and quiet power.

AfriCOBRA and the Power of Collective Creation

The late 1960s saw the emergence of AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists), a Chicago-based collective that embodied the Black Arts Movement’s ideals. Founding member Barbara Jones-Hogu created the vibrant, iconic screenprint Unite, which depicts a crowd of raised fists in the Black Power salute—a gesture she highlights as a call for solidarity.

AfriCOBRA emphasized bright colors, rhythmic composition, and direct language. Their goal was to communicate directly with the Black community—not galleries or critics—and to develop a visual language rooted in African traditions and contemporary Black culture.

Women artists played a crucial role during this time, not only as creators but also as organizers, teachers, and activists. Their work expanded the conversation around gender within Black liberation.

Legacy of the Black Arts Movement

This period redefined what Black art could be: a force for social change, a celebration of heritage, and a declaration of self-worth. Importantly, it also created a foundation for contemporary artists who continue to explore themes of race, justice, memory, and identity.

Coming next in Part V: Experimentation and Expansion — Black Artists from the 1980s to the Early 2000s

*This content was created for the ISA 2025 Assets Conference.