Resilience Through Creativity: Exploring the Impact of Black Artists

Key Takeaways:

• The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has selected a theme for Black History Month every year since 1926.
• The 2024 theme for Black History Month is Black Americans and the Arts.
• Countless Black Americans dared to dream big and pursue their artistic dreams despite the barriers they faced, including poet Phillis Wheatley, photographer Gordon Parks and dancer Janet Collins.

Since 1926, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) has carefully selected a theme for Black History Month . The 2024 theme, “African Americans and the Arts,” is especially important to me. While I enjoy and appreciate the beauty in all art forms, I am particularly passionate about music. When I was a kid, my dad taught me all about music – something he knew extremely well. He had attended the University of Denver on a band scholarship and played percussion and piano. It was thanks to the lessons he and my grandmother gave me that I learned how to play the piano.

What I grew to love about music and the arts is their ability to be a platform for expression that transcends spoken words. From literature, music, visual arts, dance and beyond, Black Americans have been trailblazers in the arts. Even more, the Black community has used, and continues to use, the arts as peaceful and powerful forms of protest and empowerment.

In celebration of this year’s theme, I have highlighted some of my favorite Black American trailblazers in the arts.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was the first Black American woman, first enslaved person and third American woman to publish a book of poetry in the U.S. Born in West Africa, Wheatley was captured and brought to the U.S. in 1761 when she was eight years old. Within 16 months of being sold to the Wheatley family, she was able to read complicated literature and began studying astronomy and geography. As a preteen, Wheatley started writing poetry and published her first poem when she was 12.

At 20, she published her first book of poetry, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.” Her talent gained well-deserved attention and acclaim among enslavers and abolitionists alike. During a time of prejudice and discrimination, her work served as a powerful assertion of Black American intellectual and cultural abilities. Her legacy paved the way for future generations of Black Americans and poets like Amanda Gorman to pursue their dreams regardless of barriers they may face.

André Watts

André Watts was a highly acclaimed classical pianist. He is also one of my favorite musicians. Watts was born into a military family in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1946. When he was eight years old, Watts moved with his family to Philadelphia, PA. His mother, an accomplished pianist in her own right, taught him how to play the piano. By the time Watts was nine, he had won a competition to play in one of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Children’s Concerts. At 16, Watts competed for and won a chance to appear with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Several weeks later, Bernstein invited him to substitute for a notable pianist and make his formal Philharmonic debut. A year later, Watts won a Grammy Award for the Most Promising New Classical Recording Artist category.

Over his six-decades-long career, Watts performed with every major orchestra in the U.S. and many of the world's finest orchestras. While Watts did not often talk about his race, he was a pioneer who defied stereotypes and helped open doors for aspiring artists of color.

Janet Collins

Janet Collins was an American ballet dancer and choreographer who broke barriers for dancers of her generation and for many who came after her. Most notably, Collins became the first Black prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Collins started dancing when she was 10 years old at the Los Angeles Catholic Community Center. Because of her considerable talent, she gained the attention of notable dance instructors Adolph Bohm, Carmelita Maracci and Mia Slavenska, who helped to train her.

Despite her impressive training and talent, Collins faced much discrimination and rejection because of her race. She set out on her own for several years, determined to succeed even if she could not join a dance company. In 1949, Collins performed her first solo recital in New York City, NY, for which she received rave reviews. Three years later, she became the prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera, where she remained until 1954. She taught modern dance at several schools until she retired in 1974.

Gordon Parks

Not only was Gordon Parks one of the best photographers of the twentieth century, he was also the first Black director of a major motion picture. Parks was born in 1912 into a low-income family in a Kansas town that was fraught with discrimination. It was when he bought his first camera at age 25 that Parks’ career journey started. Parks taught himself photography by capturing photos of life in Chicago. Just four years after he first picked up a camera, he earned a fellowship sponsored by the Farm Security Administration.

During his fellowship, Parks documented through his photography how racism impacted social and economic issues. Parks went on to work for Vogue as a freelance photographer and eventually landed a staff job at LIFE magazine. For two decades, Parks photographed across a range of genres. Hungry for more, Parks expanded his talents in Hollywood, CA and directed several major motion pictures. Parks' work went beyond convention; he used his lens to help close a gap between art and activism. Today, his work continues to serve as a reminder of the potential of visual storytelling to drive social change.

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was an internationally renowned jazz trumpeter, band leader and singer. Before his rise to fame, he grew up in a difficult area in New Orleans, LA. By fifth grade, Armstrong dropped out of school to start working, and at 11 years old, he was sent to a home for boys. At the home, he learned how to play the cornet and became the leader of the home’s brass band.

When he left the boy’s home in 1914, Armstrong decided he wanted to become a musician. Around this age, notable cornetist Joe “King” Oliver started mentoring Armstrong, and the two worked together for several years. Fueled by inspiration from his wife to go solo, Armstrong started creating records in 1925. His recordings were wildly popular and are still considered to be some of the most influential in jazz. Around this time, Armstrong started touring, which he continued to do until his passing in 1971. In addition to touring, he appeared on Broadway, radio and in films.

To ensure the life and legacy of Armstrong are remembered for generations to come, Armstrong’s home in Queens, NY, became the Louis Armstrong House Museum in 2003. I was lucky enough to work with the museum on its initiative to digitize thousands of artifacts to bring Armstrong’s story to life.

The Enduring Legacy of Black Americans and the Arts

The narratives of Wheatley, Watts, Collins, Parks, Armstrong and countless others serve as a reminder of the importance of perseverance during times of adversity. Despite the barriers they faced, Wheatley wrote poetry that challenged social norms and Watts broke barriers in classical music. Additionally, Collins defied racial barriers in ballet, Parks shined a light on social issues through photography and Armstrong revolutionized jazz while advocating for civil rights. Not only have each of them left an incredible mark on their respective fields, but they also challenged social norms and broke down racial barriers, paving the way for future generations of artists. Their legacies continue to inspire those who follow in their footsteps.

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