African American Artist
Several artists who have African backgrounds have created great pieces of art that remain relevant until today. The pieces by these artists have won various awards making these individuals popular across the globe. The artists have been drawn from different fields that include music, photography, and also orators. These people have large audiences who appreciate their works. The paper will examine the works of Latoya Ruby Frazier and Simone Leigh and their works.
Latoya Ruby Frazier
He is a renowned photographer with the skills exhibited by the photographs and documentaries she has done in her lifetime. The Notion of Family is a book by Latoya that speaks in lengths against racism (Cole 130). She uses that book to criticize individuals for supporting racial discrimination. In particular, she speaks against discrimination against blacks. She argues that all individuals are equal hence should receive the same treatment regardless of their background. Additionally, the book addresses the decline of small towns in America. She examines how her home town Braddock and the challenges that people from her village faced. She is vocal about how Africans were being treated in America, thus calls for equal treatment of all people in America. Therefore, her books illustrate what her people were going through and why it is wrong to discriminate against others despite diverse backgrounds.
The other work by Latoya is Flint Is Family. Latoya uses photography to speak against the challenges that minority communities go through. Also, the image addresses water shortage in Flint. Majority of people living in the region ae African. She uses photography to speak on behalf of people whose rights are being violated because of their skin color (Cole 133). She portrays the daily struggles of the Black community living in Flint. Her devotion to speaking against violations against the blacks was instrumental in bringing some form of equality in America. Although it is a long way before equilibrium is realized in America, her contribution has helped in one way or the other. Sadly, Africans were not receiving quality services from the government, while white people enjoyed essential services. Generally, all her works spoke of equality for African Americans.
Simone Leigh
She is a celebrated sculptor artist whose works are recognized all over the world. Brick House is one of her famous works. The sculpture is a piece that shows a powerful black woman. Leigh intends to show the world that black women should be respected as they are as bright and powerful as any other women. Moreover, she intends to remove the negative perception surrounding women, such as Caster Semenya and Serena Williams. She aims at protecting such women from people who see them as lesser women. The Waiting Room is a documentary by Leigh that features a black woman who died twenty-four hours after not getting medical attention after visiting a hospital (Koplos 62). In an interview, Simone Leigh said that the documentary illustrates a lack of empathy for black women who are in pain. The documentary shows that black women are typically discriminated against when they visit a health facility. Therefore, she uses the video to speak against discrimination against black women in healthcare facilities.