Our proverb this week comes from the region of Africa now known as the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanzania, in East Africa, is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and the Indian Ocean. This proverb reminds us all that there are many ways to define the words poor and poverty and that we should value people, especially family and friends, as much as we value treasure. The featured photo is untitled but the photographer was Anthony Asael.

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Because I live in the Metropolitan Atlanta area, when anyone mentions the name Ebenezer Baptist Church, the only church that enters my mind is the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue. This is the church called America’s Freedom Church that “Daddy King” pastored and served as the spiritual home and home church of his son, Martin Luther King, Jr. However, during my recent travels to Richmond, I learned of another Ebenezer Baptist Church that obviously had a powerful impact on the African-American community. This historic church, on West Leigh Street, made education one if its chief goals and top priorities and accomplished the following:

1. Opened the first school for Black children in Richmond, Virginia in 1866.
2. Organized Hartshorn Memorial College for African-American women in 1883.
3. Helped Found the Richmond Colored Young Men’s Christian Association in 1887

This church is now a historic site and landmark in Richmond, Virgina and its historic marker reads as follows:

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Women’s History Month’s origins can be traced back to 1979 when at the Women’s History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College a group of participants agreed to support an effort to promote a National Women’s History Week. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a proclamation that declared the week of March 8th a National Women’s History Week. Every year this tradition continued on a national level, however, by 1986 14 states had already adopted the month of March as National Women’s History Month. In 1987, the U.S. Congress got on a board on the national level and officially declared March as National Women’s History Month in perpetuity.

The United States of America established Women’s History Month to honor, recognize and celebrate the achievements of American women. Below you will find our favorite African-American art prints for Women’s History Month for 2013. We selected artwork that either commemorates or highlights the achievements of African-American women or is a work of art that should uplift and inspire all of our sisters of African descent around the world. Included is artwork by Frank Morrison, Wishum Gregory, Kevin “WAK” Williams, Michael W. Eaton, Kolongi Brathwaite, Paul Collins, Fred Mathews and Edwin Lester.

	Title: Leading Ladies Artist: Michael W. Eaton Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Poster Size: 20×16 inches Our Price: $40.00
An art print that ships framed and ready to hang and features history making African-American women and an inspirational quote from Sojourner Truth. Perfect for celebrating the achievements of African-American women in your home.
	Title: Great African-American Women Artist: Wishum Gregory Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 20×24 inches Our Price: $28.00
Probably the most popular art print that celebrates female African-American icons and legends for 2013 this piece is truly inspirational and encouraging and reminds us all to Learn and Live the Legacy!
	Title: Free Yourself Artist: Edwin Lester Edition: Limited Edition Edition Size: 750 Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 20×36 inches Our Price: $135.00
Edwin Lester’s classic features a woman who has decided to let all the things of this world go and truly free herself.
	Title: Stained Artist: K.A. Williams II Edition: Limited Edition Edition Size: 25 Medium: Giclee on Canvas Size: 36×40 inches Our Price: $1500.00
For the same way she is cleaning and staining the floor, she has been stained and affected by the traumatic experiences of her ancestors.
	Title: On the Shoulders of Queens Artist: Frank Morrison Edition: Limited Edition Edition Size: 500 Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 36×24 inches Our Price: $150.00
A reminder that we are all are where we are at because of those whose shoulders we stand upon. This limited edition release features the civil rights activists Nina Simone, Angela Davis and a young sister poised to pick up where they left off at. Learn and Live the Legacy!
	Title: Sisters in Conference II Artist: Kolongi Brathwaite Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 36×24 inches Our Price: $36.00
A new version of this popular art print by Kolongi that features history makers such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Winnie Mandela, and others. The latest version of this art print also features the first lady, Michelle Obama.
	Title: Sistas in Motion Artist: Wishum Gregory Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 20×24 inches Our Price: $28.00
An art print inspired by and dedicated to all the African-American women that participated in the London 2012 Olympics.
	Title: Paved the Way II Artist: Fred Mathews Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Art Print Size: 12×18 inches Our Price: $12.00
A motivational and historical montage by Fred Mathews that serves as a tribute to African-American female pioneers and history makers.
	Title: Underground Railroad Artist: Paul Collins Edition: Open Edition Edition Size: N/A Medium: Offset Lithograph Size: 28×22 inches Our Price: $16.00
This piece by Harriet Tubman is one of my favorite works that features Harriet Tubman. This is a very popular and moving work of art that shows Harriet leading the group on that long walk to freedom.
	Title: 4 Angels Artist: K.A. Williams II Edition: Limited Edition Edition Size: 25 Medium: Giclee on Canvas Size: 18×44.5 inches Our Price: $750.00
A work of art dedicated to the four little girls killed in the 16th Street Church Bombing in Birmingham in 1963 by K.A. Williams II.

The post Our Bestselling African-American Artwork for Women’s History Month (2013 Edition) appeared first on Black Art Depot Today.

On February 10, 2013 a tornado swept through Hattiesburg, Mississippi and did over 1 million dollars worth of damage to the African-American Military History Museum. Wind and Water damaged the facility and the exhibits located within the museum. The facility and the artifacts contained within it were insured but the museum still needs additional funds to defray the repair costs of the building and to replace or repair the damaged artifacts and exhibits. The areas that suffered the most damage were the Jesse L. Brown, Vietnam and Desert Storm exhibits.

Colonel
Sheila Varnado

Currently, a committee led by Colonel Sheila Varnado is in place to help raise the funds necessary to restore the museum to its original pre-tornado condition. The museum is actually located inside a very historic site, the last standing USO established only for African-Americans. For those unfamiliar with the term USO, it stands for United Service Organization, a private, nonprofit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform.

Interested in donating to help rebuild this historic museum? If so, please click the image below:

Slideshow

A slide show of images that show how severely the tornado damaged the museum.

Location

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This podcast explains the history of the African-American Quilt Guild of Baltimore, Maryland. I enjoy hearing about the history of this organization and truly hope their membership continues to grow. I just like to see our people come together and do great things collectively and keep our old traditions alive. Some are unaware that quilting or weaving is a tradition that you can trace all the way back to Africa. However, in Africa it was the men that did the weaving not the women. This tradition changed when enslaved Africans brought to the West began to adopt Western traditions, ideologies and standards.

If you are in the Baltimore, Maryland area and enjoy quilting, want to learn more about quilting or just want to congregate with like-minded people; this is a great group for you to consider joining. The contact information for the African-American Quilt Guild of Baltimore is below.

Contact Information

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The Watcher
Thomas Blackshear

Another masterpiece from the world renown Thomas Blackshear featuring an African-American male guardian angel watching as the biblical scripture Psalm 91:11 states: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

Visit our: Black Angel Art Prints and Posters

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I was at the Auburn Avenue Research Library yesterday in Atlanta, GA with my daughter and came across this painting that is a part of the library’s personal collection. I thought really liked it from the moment I laid eyes on it and decided that I wanted to share it with you. If you ever get a chance to stop by this Research Library for one of their art showcases, community events, or to do research on African-American culture; make sure you take the opportunity to view this and the other great works of art they have featured inside.

Painted by Jay Disele aka the Botswana Bushman Artist, “Eyes of the Beholder” is an original work in oil, wood glue and sand on canvas and measures 47″(H) x 47″(W) x 3.5″(D).

Jay Disele

Auburn Ave. Research
Library on African-American Culture

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The Art and Soul Exhibit currently displaying at the Keith De Lellis Gallery in New York City features vintage photography by four African-American photographers primarily taken in the 1960′s and 1970′s. The Anthony Barboza photos of New York City residents and scenery; LeRoy Henderson’s images of marches, rallies and demonstrations; the on stage and off stage pictures of music performers by Chuck Stewart and Chester Higgins’s rural life photos will be showcased at the gallery until March 23, 2013.

Below you will find a slide show consisting of selected images from the exhibit. For more information please contact the gallery

Location

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The Thomas Blackshear Military Figurines Collection consists of Coming Home, Coming Home (Ivory), Buffalo Soldier, Tuskegee Airmen, United We Stand, Home at Last and Home at Last (Ivory). These high quality figurines come in African-American and Ivory versions and make great gifts for active duty or retired members of the Armed Forces. They are all made of handcrafted resin and inspected for quality and authenticity by Thomas Blackshear. They represent the modern-day soldier (Coming Home and Home at Last), those that served during Vietnam (United We Stand), the first Black Aviators in the United States (Tuskegee Airmen) as well as historic African-American troops from the past (Buffalo Soldiers).

Thomas Blackshear

Thomas Blackshear II is an award-winning artist born in Texas, raised in Georgia and residing in Colorado. He attended the Institute of Art in Chicago as well as the Academy of Art in Chicago on scholarship.
His clients have included Hallmark Cards, Disney Pictures, Coca-Cola, Embassy Pictures, The Hamilton Group, International Wildlife, Jim Henson Studios, Lee Jeans, George Lucas Studios, Milton Bradley, National Geographic, Seven-Up, Sunrise, and Universal Studios. His many awards also include the Society of Illustrators’s coveted Gold Metal award.

Open edition and limited edition quality figurines and collectibles by a world renown artist. Check out the slide show below to view the members of Thomas Blackshear’s Military Figurine Collection:

Visit our: Black Military Figurines

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Isaac Scott Hathaway was a pioneering sculptor remembered as the first African-American to design a United States Mint Coin. He designed two coins for the United States of America during his lifetime. The first was a commemorative 50 cent piece that featured the educator and author Booker T. Washington. The United States Mint produced these coins from 1946 to 1951. The second was a commemorative 50 cent piece that featured the scientist George Washington Carver. The United States of America produced these coins from 1951 to 1954. President Harry S. Truman authorized and commissioned both commemorative coins to help facilitate and spread the teachings and ideas of these two African-American icons.

Frederick Douglass
by Isaac Hathaway

Hathaway was born in Lexington, Kentucky on April 4, 1872 and raised mostly by his father, Reverend Robert Elijah Hathaway, after his mother passed in 1874. It was a visit to a local museum that inspired Hathaway to become a sculptor and artist. While visiting the museum with his father, a young Isaac Hathaway wondered why there were no busts of his hero, Frederick Douglass, in the museum. His father informed him that it was due to their not being any African-American sculptors to create these busts. It was then, at an early age, that Isaac Hathaway committed himself to creating busts of famous African-Americans and placing them where the public would be able to view them.

During his lifetime, Isaac Hathaway became an accomplished sculptor and created over 100 busts and masks of prominent African-Americans. In 1915, at what is now known as the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, he became one of the first individuals to teach a ceramics course at Black Institution. Isaac Scott Hathaway established the Ceramics department at Tuskegee University. In 1945, he developed Alabama Kaolin Clay as a medium, and became the first artist on record to “make the clay behave”.

In 1947, he began teaching a course on ceramics at what is now known as Auburn University. This was a significant accomplishment because he was an African-American man teaching a class at an all-white institution in the deep south and receiving compliments from the existing staff and students for his ceramics knowledge and skill. When Hathaway moved to Montgomery, Alabama he became the Director of Ceramics at Alabama State College until he retired in 1963. In 1967, Isaac Scott Hathaway made his transition after receiving many honorary degrees, doctorates, and fine arts awards from the various colleges and universities where he helped introduce ceramics as a field of study.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock, Arkansas now host the largest known collection of artwork, papers, sketches and other documents by Isaac Scott Hathaway.

SLIDESHOW

Below you will find a slide show that features seventeen images and videos about Isaac Scott Hathaway.

INTERVIEW

This interview is a recreation performed by students at Auburn University of a 1939 interview that the Federal Writers’ Project did with Isaac Scott Hathaway.

View our: Great Black Leaders and Icons Art Prints & Posters

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