Abstract
The paper relates that for enslaved African-Americans, art became a form of expressionism, hope, history and therapy. The paper discusses the slaves' tools, songs, dances and their stories that all demonstrate how they are survivors. The paper also looks at the literature from this time period, specifically the narrative of Frederick Douglass, that conveys a strong American spirit that refuses to let anyone or anything beat it down.

From the Paper
"Oral traditions go back as far as Africans do. While it might have been frowned upon in America, the tradition can be continued with songs and story telling. These stories and songs became specific to the African-American experience and they tell us so much about the endurance of slaves. Songs were used as tools of education as well as entertainment because reading was discouraged. Songs were not always sad as one might guess. While some songs told tales of agony and oppression, many were songs of hope that obviously lifted the soul in difficult times. We can learn about the tenacity of the human soul thought some of these songs. For example, one song asks, "didn't my Lord deliver Daniel . . . and why not every man." 1 Similar songs of freedom might have been the only hope that slaves could cling to when their lives seemed the darkest. How African-Americans sang is also significant because dance is very much a tradition that lives today."

Tags:Frederick, Douglass, slavery, tools, songs, dances, stories

Abstract
This paper takes a look at African American art. The paper analyzes Richard Wright's text "Joe Louis Uncovers Dynamite" and John Stewart Curry's painting "Mississippi".

From the Paper
"As the Great Depression took its toll on numerous Americans on a daily basis, something also very critical was taking place within the society; the construction of new identities. A number of artists and writers saw this movement and felt their desire to portray the reality into their works including articles and paintings. Their perspectives on the African Americans - an ethnic group which has been constantly oppressed and discriminated against - in the 1930s was focused on the process of African Americans' works on establishing their own new identity; identity that is strong enough to protect their rights and pride against the prejudiced and discriminating society. For example, texts such as "Joe Louis Uncovers Dynamite" by Richard Wright and John Stewart Curry's painting "Mississippi" reflect the reality of circumstances and conflicts African Americans were faced with and the process of overcoming them throughout the 1930s."

Tags:american, art, class, depression, dream, great, identities, new, socially, structured, system

Abstract
This paper discusses Ringgold's background and her work. In addition to other media, she uses quilting as an art form to tell stories that show the difficulties of being black and a woman. Through her canvas and quilts, she has made lasting changes in the worlds of black women artists and folk art. Her work is shown in galleries and exhibitions all over the world.

From the Paper
"Ringgold was born in New York City on October 8, 1930. She grew up in Harlem. Her mother, Willi Posey Jones, was a fashion designer, and when Ringgold was young, she spent a lot of time at home, watching her mother work. She learned how to sew from her mother, and learned about working with different kinds of fabrics, and about drawing. The family was poor, but they were very interested in art and culture, and often took her to local museums. She grew up with people in her neighborhood like Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, who influenced her in black culture and what blacks could accomplish."

Tags:harlem, paintings, illustrations, drawing, black, heritage, photography, sculpture, children, feminist, awards, quilting, story

Abstract
The paper relates that Diane Carroll began her career after completing her education at the Manhattan School for the Performing Arts. The paper notes that she was both a nightclub singer and model that has her first break on Broadway in 1954 with a role in "The House of Flowers" ("Diana" para. 1) and her work continued in film, starring in "Carmen Jones" in the 1950s, as well as "Claudine" in 1974. The paper points out that it was for the latter film that she was nominated for an Academy Award, yet, it was in 1962 that Carroll worked on "No Strings", which built on the attention she received as a rising star in the entertainment industry.

From the Paper
"Diane Carroll: Diane Carroll began her career after completing her education at the Manhattan School for the Performing Arts. She was both a nightclub singer and model that has her first break on Broadway in 1954 with a role in "The House of Flowers" ("Diana" para. 1). Her work continued in film, starring in "Carmen Jones" in the 1950s, as well as "Claudine" in 1974. It was for the latter film that she was nominated for an Academy Award. Yet, it was in 1962 that Carroll worked on "No Strings", which built on the attention she received as a rising star in the entertainment industry."

Tags:theatre, african, american

Abstract
This paper suggests that many African-American individuals who have positively contributed to the evolution of American society have remained unknown and have been deprived of the appreciation they deserved. The paper strives to shed light on the names of a few African Americans that dedicated their lives to make a difference in society, be it through artistic achievement, scientific advances, or the fight for freedom and equality.

From the Paper
"As far as the field of scientific and technological innovation, there is definitely one name that stands out in particular thanks to his remarkable efforts. Frederick McKinley Jones is a 20th century African American inventor. His main contribution to the American scientific society was the invention and patent of several items in the field of refrigeration which culminated with his refrigeration unit. He directly contributed to American history during World War II when his portable air conditioner was used by the U.S. government to preserve medicines and blood serum. He was the first African American inventor to receive the American National Medal of Technology. Aside from his inventions which changed American, and even global society, McKinley Jones can be regarded as a highly inspirational success story as he went on to become the greatest African American inventor despite the fact that he could not attend school beyond grade eight, and that he was an orphan."

Tags:oppression, slavery, literature, art, freedom

Abstract
This paper looks at the development of the African-American culture during the coming of the 20th century. More specifically, the paper discusses and analyzes the culture of consumerism and literature of the African-American sector during the Progressive Era.

From the Paper
"The consumerism of African Americans is illustrated by the increased consumption of manufactured goods and services offered in the commercial market. By buying these manufactured goods and services, African Americans perceive themselves as one with the white American society. By subsisting to materialism and hedonism, the black American sector sought to achieve an equal status, establish an egalitarian society in the country, where both white and black Americans co-exist peacefully. Unfortunately, this is just an "idealistic" view of the consumer culture of African Americans, where material goods represent their ideals for a free and equal society."

Tags:double, consciousness, isolation, belong, w.e.b., du, bois, two-ness, two, souls, negro

Abstract
In this article, the writer offers a comparison of how South African, American, and Czech sources portray national history, art history, world history and personal history. The writer examines a selection of texts to identify to what extent each amplifies linkages between world history, natural history, art history and personal history.

From the Paper
"History as a record of events and dates can be a dull affair because it does not necessarily capture the dynamics of personal or even state actions as they were experienced by the people involved. Yet people are what make history and what made up the culture or cultures in which events and actions unfolded. Professional historians, if they are skilled enough, can make an account of an era or a significant set of events lively, but the life's blood of a culture a people a person or ... "

Tags:Personal, history, national, history, world, history, art, history

Abstract
This report describes the Neo-Mannerism of African-American artist Ernie Barnes. The paper references his style and several paintings, including "Sugar Shack." The paper includes an appendix with a chronology of male exhibits and works.

From the Paper
"Ernie Barnes, an African-American football player and painter, combined his love of sport with his deeply personal understanding of ethnic life in the American South to create a body of artistic work that has been characterized as representative of the style known as Neo-Mannerism. As this essay will demonstrate, Barnes who died at age ... in ... was highly influential in ...th century American artistic life, particularly in terms of his capacity for capturing the culture, values and suffering of an oppressed..."

Tags:art., Neo-Mannerism, Fred, Barnes, Sugar Shack

Abstract
This paper looks at baseball as an art form. The struggle of the colored player to be part of the mainstream baseball league is studied. African-American baseball players' real experiences are also looked at.

Abstract
This paper studies the painting "In an African Setting", by Aaron Douglas. As the paper explains, through the Public Works Act, African-American artist Aaron Douglas was commissioned by the Harlem Branch of the New York Public Library to compose works on African-American history. The paper studies the piece's form, technique and symbolic significance.

From the Paper
"In this particular work, Douglas' use of sharp edges and repetitive designs was greatly influenced by African sculptures, jazz music, dance and geometric forms. "In An African Setting", was in fact part of a larger collection. The work was a four panel series that was used to communicate the distance that the African American had traveled, from freedom in Africa, to slavery in the United States, to the challenges of freedom after the Civil War. The first panel, and most famous, depicts an African man and woman dancing to the beat of drums."

Tags:african, american, great, depression, slavery, art, deco