The Death of Integration

It was the early 70’s, a troubling time in America, and a turbulent time in the movement toward freedom for Black people. We had experienced the assassination of Dr. King and Black Power was on the rise. The events that were taking place would change the trajectory of the movement and American history in general. A friend had written a scholarly paper on how the focus on integration was giving way to the Black Power movement. He asked me to illustrate some of his text and my ruminations for the illustrations gave birth to this painting. Unlike my later work it is bold in your face reality, which is how I was experiencing the world and how my experiences were being expressed.