Found my peoples
Quotes and Black Art | Thursdaysº
Quotes and Black Art
Your Curated Art Museum
“Come for the art, stay for the quotes.”
“The funny part of it was she was willing to trust them and their motives without questioning, but the instant they saw the color of her skin they knew what she must be.” — Ann Petry, The Street, 1946
A Snippet:
Did you know that despite being the first African-American woman to sell over one million copies of her first novel, The Street (published in 1946), Ann Petry, the classic novelist herself, remains relatively unknown to the greater public?
Learn more . . .
Quotes and Black Art
Thursday, June 18, 2026 (week 25)
Food For Thought: The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude) wasn’t ratified until December 6, 1865
61. “Revival Meeting” (1994) by Benny Andrews
Born in Plainview, Georgia, artist, educator, and activist Benny Andrews (1930 - 2006)—who taught at Queens College for nearly thirty years and, from 1982 through 1984, served as the director of the Visual Arts program for the National Endowment for the Arts—on defining success as an creative:
“If I get a little publicity or make a sale or two, that is not really necessarily a plus in terms of what I visualize as my aim in becoming an artist, in becoming what you would call a successful artist. I'm trying to find a way to involve more people from the community, and to involve myself more in the community.”
- Benny Andrews
62. “In Our Solitude” by John Holyfield
Clarksburg, West Virginia, artist John Holyfield (b. 1969)—one of the most collected Black artists in the nation—on having an artistic mission:
“My mission as an artist is to capture, visually, all of the positive and beautiful aspects of being African-American. This artistic talent is ‘my voice’ . . . I feel compelled to say something.”
- John Holyfield
63. “Survivor” (1983) by Elizabeth Catlett
Washington, D.C. born and raised artist and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett (1915 - 2012)—the first woman and first African-American to receive a MFA degree in sculpture at the University of Iowa—on celebrating one’s dual heritage:
“I am inspired by Black people and Mexican people, my two peoples.”
- Elizabeth Catlett
The Silver Lining?
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" — C.S. Lewis
Gemini Birthdays!
(May 21st - June 20th)
June 13 - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (twins! 👯♀️)
June 14 - Gunna
June 14 - Faizon Love
June 15 - Erroll Garner (Jazz pianist)
June 15 - North West
June 15 - Ice Cube
June 16 - Tupac Shakur
June 16 - Geronimo
June 17 - James Weldon Johnson (Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing)
June 17 - Kendrick Lamar
June 17 - Venus Williams
June 18 - Lou Brock & Paul McCartney (today!)
June 19 - Zoe Saldaña
June 20 - Lionel Richie
June 20 - E. Lynn Harris
(Breathe In . . . Breathe Out)
Found my peoples
Quotes and Black Art - A Newsletter
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