" Manumission "
The New Negro

“Almost everything seemed possible above 125th Street in the early 1920’s. You could be Black and proud, politically assertive and economically independent, anarchic or disciplined- or so it seemed. It was “fun to be a Negro” under certain conditions. In some places the autumn of 1924 may have been an unremarkable season. In Harlem, it was like a foretaste of paradise. A blue haze descended at night and with it strings of fairy lights on the broad avenues. One of the pleasures was seeing celebrities. Just around the corner, at West 135th Street, lived James Weldon Johnson. Next door to him lived Fats Waller. A stroll to the Lafayette Theater at 132nd Street led past the Tree of Hope, under which could be found artist such as Ethel Waters, Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, Fletcher Henderson, And Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. It was truly bliss to be alive then.” This excerpt from The Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America most appropriately describes Harlem during the period sometimes referred as “the Negro Renaissance.”

In the 1920’s and 30’s. What a place, what a time- what an idea. It seemed to embody the “best of times”: when blues was hot and jazz was a growing stay in America’s culture; when speakeasies were filled with both blacks and whites dancing to the “rhythms of life” set out by the saxophone, trumpet, and drums; when the “New Negro” was setting his mark in politics, art, literature, music, science, the social sciences and every aspect of American life into which he could win his way; when the industrial North seemed to call forth the Negro out of the agrarian South and when the Negro responded to the call in droves, fleeing the violence and racism of the KKK and lynch law and the abject poverty of share cropping; when it seemed as if the urban North, in cities like New York, Chicago, and Detroit, was a place where the American Negro could finally become an unharassed property owner, and could finally go out dancing Saturday might without fear of having men in white sheets shatter his fun.

With the mass exodus from the South to the North, there was a noted change in demeanor. A new consciousness was emerging. The day of the “Aunts”, “Uncles” and “Mammy’s” is gone. Uncle Tom and Sambo have passed on. Alain Locke, the first African American Rhode Scholar, proclaimed the old apologetic and demure Negro is dead. Influenced by the study of Negro history, congregation of large numbers of Blacks in select Northern cities, a newfound pride and love of self, the New Negro was more sophisticated, confident, and powerful. Zora Neale Hurston said it best: “ I refuse to remain tragically colored, I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negro hood.” A genre of African-American artist, writers, and musicians that collectively described and defined African heritage and explored the meaning of the “Black” experience in America became a symbol of artistic and intellectual rebirth known as the “Negro Renaissance” or “Harlem Renaissance.”

Manumission means freedom. This piece is a salute to the African-Americans who dared to just be, without apology. It is infused with elements of the predominate style of the “roaring” 20’s and 30’s- Art Deco. Art deco relied on the use of geometry and simplicity often combined with vibrant colors and luxurious objects made from exotic materials to achieve its aesthetic. In keeping with this convention, this work is mixed media pieced together with lavish and ornate fabrics. The centerpiece is the unforgettable Josephine Baker on silk. Genuine peacock feathers and black faux ostrich surround her. The bulk of the work is machine-pieced with silk or silk blends. The sequined and beaded elements are cut from original vintage 1920’s “flapper” dresses. It is bordered with Parisian silk reminiscent of the hem of the skirt of a “can-can girl” and trimmed with faux onyx beads. The back is black silk brocade.