Black is Beautiful (2018) 8 - Claudia Jones

Claudia Jones was an activist, journalist, and organizer from Trinidad. She was born in 1915 and moved to the US at the age of 9. Upon moving to the US she faced the struggles of the great depression and racism in NYC, but she also benefitted from the Black cultural happenings of Harlem. She was a great writer and student who studied journalism and wrote a lot. She joined the Communist Party and quickly rose through the ranks as a writer, editor, then as a speaker and a rally organizer. She made so much noise in fact, they arrested her and deported her. She was surveilled and put on the FBI watch list as well. She was not allowed to return to Trinidad because of her great political knowledge and organizing power. So she was sent to the UK, where she also encountered racism. Even in the communist organizations there she was met with resistance. So, she saw the different caribbean peoples in the UK ( from former UK colonies) struggling and decided to start a newspaper called the West Indian Gazette in 1958. Blacks were migrating to the UK and being threatened, discriminated against, and in some cases killed. When riots started to break out and folks were struggling with how to organize she with leaders from several communities founded the Nottinghill Carnival. This still happens today and was credited with affirming Black beauty and bringing together people from Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, St Martinique, Grenada, and so many more countries. She struggled with many illnesses and died of a heart attack in 1964. In addition to standing up for Black rights, she was anti-capitalist, anti nuclear war, and the rights of working and poor people to dismantle their oppressive governments.


Sources: Sons of Malcolm TV, AfricanHeritage.com, BlackAgendaReport.com

Black is Beautiful - Postcard set 1

Black history month - Postcard set by Robert Liu-Trujillo

This is a set of postcards featuring three Black women from a series of Black history month. The subjects I chose are not who are typically talked about during the month and that is intentional. I hope with my series of illustrations, I can be one of many artists expanding the consciousness of Black lives and the Black experience. We all love Rosa, Malcolm, and Martin, but there are so many more people we should know. These women are:

Betty Reid Soskin- Oldest African American park ranger 

Memphis Minnie- Pioneering blues musician

Edna Lewis- Ground breaking chef

Bookmark 1 - READ

Purchase 

This is an image I illustrated a long time ago that I am repurposing as a bookmark. It features a young black girl with a bunch of books as the subject. The title is simple, READ!

Black is Beautiful (2018) 7 - Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey was born in Texas in 1931. He was born into a time of great struggle not only from the violence of racism, but the strain of the great depression. When he was in junior high school his mother went to Los Angeles to get a better job. She sent for him and he finished high school there. While in high school he tried out football but did not like the full contact sport. He was introduced to dance by a good friend and would join the Horton Dance Company as a teenager. He excelled and loved dance so much that when the director of the company died he briefly took the reigns. He was invited to dance in New York and stayed around the mid 50s. By 1958 he had not seen avenues or companies giving Black dancers enough of a stage so he created his own company; the Alvin Ailey dance company. This life's work would go on to win awards from the NAACP, the Rockefeller foundation, the UN, the US State Department, President Carter, and would be named "Cultural Ambassador to the world". Alvin's style further popularized modern dance as he mixed traditional movements with blues, spirituals, gospel, and later hip hop. He would add his own style to his choreography and would construct pieces such as "Revelations" and "Cry"; eventually designing over 30 pieces of choreography. His company toured in Mexico, Europe, Africa, and the USSR throughout the 60s and 80s. Alvin Ailey passed away from HIV/Aids in 1989 but his company lives on as a school and a traveling dance theater that has inspired countless young people. Myself included.

Sources: Alvinailey.org, Wikipedia, UCLA

Black is Beautiful (2018) 6 - J Dilla

The first record I purchased that had Jaydee's name on it was a remix of "Woo ha" by Busta Rhymes. I thought that beat was amazing. The 2nd time was a beat he did for Phat Kat's "don't nobody care about us" that Harley (drummer for Wild Hunt) had. I played it over and over again. Then tribe LP. Then the Slum Village stuff, then it felt solidified that this guy was one of my favorite producers. I'm not gonna do the whole bio today, go look it up. But for you young musicians, this guy truly studied, made art w/ the likes of D'Angelo, Q Tip, Blackstar, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Janet Jackson, The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Madlib, Elzhi, Amo Fiddler, too many to name and his sound lives on through so many musicians today. Dilla! 1974-2006! I remember the day he passed. RIP.

You can purchase a print for $20 (includes shipping) , email at info@robdontstop.com  -a portion will go to Ma Dukes! 

Sources: Music, lots of music

Black is Beautiful (2018) 5 - Robert Sengstacke Abbott

Robert Sengstacke Abbott started was a poor kid from the south who became a man of immense wealth. Not just monetarily, but with knowledge and power. Born in 1870 Robert traveled to the world's fair and was inspired by a speaker named Fredrick Douglas. He would later move to Chicago, and on the dining room table of his landlord start one of the biggest Black owned media companies; The Chicago Defender. Robert wanted to be a lawyer and went to school for it, but faced so many obstacles racially, financially, etc that he decided to start the Defender. He researched and worked hard figuring out how to get it printed and how to distribute it. And once he got it started it spread quickly. Realizing there were vast parts of Black life that White newspapers ignored Robert began covering life, death, social events, small businesses, news from a Black view point, and everything in between. He spoke about lynchings when white newspapers acted like they did not exist. The newspaper started to get around, mostly in Chicago and a few spots in the south. He bought a press, hired writers, illustrators, expanded the copies printed, and started to make a living. Then, whites in the South started to ban his newspaper. Not only because it told the truth about lynchings, but because it invited and encouraged Black folks from the south to come north to Chicago. The Defender taught new comers how to get there, who was hiring, how to find a place to live, and even what nightlife there was.  When the paper started to get confiscated, he called on a powerful union of men to distribute it; the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters who rode trains all over the US. Robert was part of a wave of Black presses that told stories about Black life and he started a parade that still happens today called the Bud Biliken Parade & Picnic in Chicago.


Sources: The Defender, Wikipedia, The Black Press Documentary, The Sengstacke Eye

Dig this? Check out this piece about Cathy Hughes

Black is Beautiful (2018) 4 - Master Ron Van Clief

Ron is a world renowned martial artist from New York. He began training at 15 yrs old w/ Moses Powell (Jui Jitsu), and would go on to train with many other forms including wing chin w/ Leung Ting. Ron competed until the age of 65 and was 5x world champion winner participating in at least 900 tournaments. He was a marine who faced extreme racism. He moved to Hong Kong and became the first African American to star in martial arts films there. Internationally Ban Clief was in 100 films, he earned a phd in theology, developed a style called Chinese Goju, and he trained other such as Taimak (Last Dragon). He still trains today and was one of the oldest fighters to compete in the UFC. 

You can purchase a print for $20 (includes shipping) , email at info@robdontstop.com 

Sources: JetLi.com, UCCN tv, The Black Kung Fu Experience

Black is Beautiful (2018) 3 - Roxanne Shanté

Born in 1969 Roxanne Shanté is a pioneering MC in the art of MCing and hip hop. Roxanne was a part of the legendary Juice Crew helmed by Marley Marl. She grew up in Queensbridge projects which was one of the largest housing projects in the US. She started recording at the age of 14 but had been rhyming and battling for awhile before. After she recorded a diss response to the group UTFO's "Roxaxanne Roxanne" she blew up and started the "Roxanne" wars which resulted in countless songs dissing her or adding to the feud. Shanté would record three albums, tour, perform, and influence countless kids as a lyricist and as a bold woman. She not only rhymed about her skill but about serious issues such as domestic violence and sexual harassment. Transition. She leaves hip hop. And she goes back to school. By this time, she had been a teen mom, dropped out of school, and wanted to better herself. She worked out a deal so her record company paid for her education and became Dr. Shanté! She began investing her money in property, and youth. She is now a big advocate for health in general and girls specifically, encouraging thousand sof young women to get their education.  And this past year a feature film about her life was just finished and premiered at the Sundance film festival.

Did you catch the painting of Sha Rock?

Did you see the Netflix film about her life?

Sources: Vice news, Hudson Union Society, Wikipedia

Here are some process shots. 

Black is Beautiful (2018) 2 - Shine Louise Houston

This my friends is a porn director and producer! Originally from Long Beach , Shine moved up to San Francisco and began her interest in making adult films working at Good Vibrations (adult sex positive store) because she didn't see the kind of adult films she wanted to see. I am including her because she is a groundbreaking filmmaker. In addition to making films such as The Crash Pad, Champion, and Super Freak she also is a pioneer in queer porn production. She believes in ethical porn and her films have won award nationally and internationally( 4o awards and counting). Annnd, she started a site called Pink Label tv to give viewers a way to buy, rent, and watch her films-and films by other female or queer filmmakers! Check her out, u can be any gender or sexual orientation to enjoy her site. 


Sources: LTASEX, Sex out loud, Pink label tv, 

Black is Beautiful (2018) 1 - Ann Wolfe

Its 2018 and its February, that means its time for "Black History Month" and this series I started two years ago called "Black is Beautiful" celebrating known and lesser known people and places in Black culture.

This right here is Ann Wolfe. She is a world class fighter from Louisiana. With one of the hardest punches in boxing she was the first woman to win 4 world titles in boxing in 4 separate weight classes. Wolfe had an extremely hard up bringing. She lost both parents as a teen, was molested, faced homelessness, and was trying her best to make it as a single parent. She was inspired by seeing fighters in tv and got Pops Billingsley from Austin Tx to train her. Pop, would mold her already aggressive fighting style into champion winning punches. Wolfe started boxing in the mid 90's and retired in 2016. She was cast as the amazon warrior Artemis in last year's film Wonder Woman and went on to build on the legacy her trainer Pops built by teaching young fighters who had lost their way or had as much anger as she did as a young woman. Wolfe is a proud gay woman and the mother to three kids.


Sources: HBO, The Ringer, Wonder Woman