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PREFACE

It is with great pleasure that the African American Historical and Cultural Museum mounted the exhibit "The People's Art: Black Murals, 1967-1978." This show captures the essence of the issue sand the themes which fueled the Civil Rights years. As the Museum celebrates its tenth anniversary and looks forward to a second decade of operation, "Black Murals" is a most fitting exhibition to present: the artists, their murals, and the Museum share the same creative and community roots.

The artists of the Civil Rights movement used their works to arouse social and historical consciousness. At the same time, they were part of an important aesthetic and cultural movement for Afro-Americans. The murals were grand, dramatic, narrative, and often heroic; and, many times, they self-consciously sought to express the concerns and the dreams of their people.

Similarly, Black museums, and particularly this one, were born out of the Black community's need to assert its roots and to express pride in the African-American heritage. Thus, the African American Historical and Cultural Museum was the first museum founded by a city solely to preserve and to present the Black cultural and social experience. In addition to providing a showplace for the work of Black artists, this Museum plays an integral role in the documentation of the Black experience. Like the artists of the murals, then, the African American Historical and Cultural Museum relies on an artistic aesthetic and on a visual means to promote a cultural and historical awareness.

The African American Museum is grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for its support of the exhibit, the accompanying lecture series, and this catalogue. The African-American Historical and Cultural Museum also would like to acknowledge the support of several other agencies and organizations for their contributions to the exhibition: Rohm and Haas Company, the Glenmede Trust Company, Bell of Pennsylvania, AT&T Communications, the Pew Memorial Trust, Philadelphia National Bank, the Sun Company, Inc., the City of Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

The Museum is also grateful for the cooperation and support it has received from several individuals who, as participants in the mural movement or as savvy and sensitive collectors and historians, were invaluable in the exhibit's effort to document the murals, many of which were demolished or destroyed long ago. Barry Gaither, Director, the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, and Deidre Bibby, Curator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, worked with the Museum's staff in the initial stages of conceptualizing and developing the exhibit. Robert Sengstacke, Barry Gaither, E.J. Montgomery, Dana Chandler, Walter Edmonds, and Richard Watson-all loaned works and/or slides to the exhibition.

Also, the Museum wishes particularly to thank Roland Freeman for his interest, cooperation, and contribution and Samella Lewis for her guidance and generosity with her time and materials.

Personally, I want to express my appreciation to several individuals, staff members as well as consultants, whose creativity and hard work made the exhibit a reality. These include Irene Burnham, Director of Exhibits; David Ellis, the Exhibit Designer; Nannette Clark, Collections Manager; Deryl Mackie, Exhibits Coordinator; Robert Robinson, Staff Photographer; Cheryl D. Jones, Graphic Designer, and Reginald Butler, Research Historian.

The Museum is pleased with the Murals exhibit and hopes it will foster greater interest and exploration of the Afro-American aesthetic forces and achievements during the Civil Rights Era.

Rowena Stewart
Executive Director