Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory
Amy Helene Kirschke
The Crisis was an integral element of the struggle to combat racism in America. As editor of the magazine (1910–1934), W. E. B. Du Bois addressed the important issues facing African Americans. He used the journal as a means of racial uplift, celebrating the joys and hopes of African American culture and life, and as a tool to address the injustices black Americans experienced—the sorrows of persistent discrimination and racial terror, and especially the crime of lynching. The written word was not sufficient. Visual imagery was central to bringing his message to the homes of readers and emphasizing the importance of the cause. Art was integral to his political program. Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory reveals how W. E. B. Du Bois created a "visual vocabulary" to define a new collective memory and historical identity for African Americans.
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About Amy Helene Kirschke
Reviews for Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory
Randall O. Westbrook
Fairleigh-Dickinson University
. . . valuable. It supplies a concise account of Du Bois's inclusion of art during his editorship of the magazine. It focuses us on the abundance and high quality of the art included and begins the important job of remembering and documenting the work of black artists now too often forgotten. . . . Art in Crisis makes readily accessible to a wide range of readers a rich sampling of work from The Crisis's formative period.Vol.42.2 (rec'd April 2009)
Elizabeth Ammons
Tufts University
As the first book to examine Du Bois's use of imagery to create racial pride and convey moral outrage, Art in Crisis offers important insights into the history of visual journalism as well as the contributions of one of the twentieth—century's most significant black periodicals. . .
Jhistory
. . . a reminder of the usage and power of visual images to shape ideas and instill self—worth and opinions in American society. . . . Recommended. General readers; lower—division undergraduates through faculty.
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