HERSTORY
I believe that the backbone of African American culture is the black woman. She is the mother at home, or working double time to provide for her family. She is the deaconess or first lady that reminds the community what strength and faith is. She was the woman that reared generations of slave owners children and nanny to the nation. She is all of these roles and so much more, a continual admirable strength to the whole world.
The purpose behind my work is to remind young African American women of their worth and the legacy we have to fulfill. Those same spirits and strengths lie with in all African American women; they just have to embrace them.
I began by researching the history of important African American women, who’ve made a significant contribution to the image of women. From my research, I created a timeline of accomplishments that began in the early twentieth century. I then combined photos, and digitally altered them to highlight the achievements of these women. My inspirations were Michelle Obama, Althea Gibson, Sadie Mossell Alexander, and others. Katherine Smith, my grandmother reared thirteen children starting at the age of fourteen. Another inspiration is my mother, Veronica Smith, who was a single mother of four children, but still managed to send them all to college.
My goal is not to neglect any other race, but to give the justified recognition to black women for the positive contributions they have made to American history.