Many of the works of art being exhibited depict struggle-- the gains, and disappointing set-backs as African-Americans continue to seek equality, and respect. Through music, art, education, and determination we have come a long way. There is still a long way to go before we have equal opportunities for women, native Americans and all people of color. Music and the arts are the great equalizers for bringing people together to find they may have much in common.

This exhibition contains images of African American migration from the South to the North and West during the 1920s to the 1960s and beyond. These images are reflected in my art from my experiences living through these times with society's changes from being considered colored, to negro, to black, to African-American.

Prefaced by the earlier Underground Railroad led by Harriet Tubman and others seeking freedom from oppression, the movement of African-Americans from southern states to urban northeast and midwest was motivated by racial violence and the search for equal job opportunities. From 1920-1921, lynchings in the south numbered sixty-two. In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan numbered 4 million strong. The reasons for migration were many -- seeking to own land, need for better education, community life, and housing. African-Americans moved from Jim Crow in the south to a new kind of racial discrimination. They were limited to jobs working as maids, butlers, chauffeurs, and janitors. They lived in isolated areas in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, and attended separate schools where Little Black Sambo was read while such writers as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin and Richard Wright were excluded.

There came North such a stream of black artists, performers, musicians, writers, physicians, scientists, and others, who have made unquestionable contributions to America and the rest of the world, and still in the year 2000, are denied the recognition they are due in society and in the schools. As an American artist, who happens to be of African descent, I try to bridge that gap visually.

Consider John Wilson's sculptural head of Dr. Martin Luther King at the rotunda of the White House in Washington D.C., Alan Crite's work depicting the history of life in Boston's South End, Vusumuzi Maduna's sculpture "The Judge", on the grounds of the Roxbury District Court House in Boston, or my own drawing for Primary Source denoting those whose contributions made an important impact on society. In our lifetimes we have seen racial equality take a few steps forward and many steps back. As an artist I can help to visually mirror society to inform those who are not aware of the contribution of the African-American, both in the past and the present.

Hank Kearsley
Artist, Curator

Directions to TCAN and gallery hours and performance information are available by calling 508-647-0097, or at www.natickarts.org. The art is in the same venue as the performances, and can also be enjoyed while attending these Tuesday through Sunday evening events. Press Contact: Cheryl Litster TCAN 508-647-0097 Home 781-237-6807 Email: cheryl@vpr.mit.edu