Malcolm X was a revolutionary civil rights activist known for his strong leadership, commanding pres

Malcolm X was a revolutionary civil rights activist known for his strong leadership, commanding presence, and the confidence in which he articulated Black nationalist solutions to oppression by any means necessary. Throughout his lifetime, he influenced countless other activists and amassed a great following. He began his activism within the Nation of Islam where he was appointed a minister, giving speeches all over the nation. Shortly after leaving the Nation of Islam, converting to Sunni Islam, and making his pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj, he was assassinated. His untimely death marked a major shift and was one of the many factors that brought on the Black Power movement. Even in his physical absence, his flame still lights the way for activists, artists, and all the generations to come.Alabama-born Jack Whitten studied art in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where in the late 1950s he participated in Civil Rights marches before relocating to New York. Whereas most of his late 1960s works were quite colorful with expressive brushstrokes, Homage to Malcolm is very clearly structured and is the artist’s only triangular painting. Whitten used his Afro comb to manipulate layers of acrylic paint, revealing reds and greens below the black. He felt that the triangle was an appropriately strong shape to pay homage to Malcolm X, who had seen the Egyptian pyramids in the early 1960s.Celebrate the first weekend of Black History Month with a final visit to Soul of a Nation and honor the artists, heroes, and icons of the Black Power era.Posted by Emoni BarakaInstallation view of Jack Whitten (1939–2018) Homage to Malcolm, 1970. Acrylic paint on canvas. Courtesy of the Estate of Jack Whitten and Hauser & Wirth. Photos: Jonathan Dorado -- source link

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