
Black Crows in the White Section Only
Artist, Betye Saar: Most of the works in this exhibition are from the 60s, but I have two or so who were a more recent one. One of them is called Black Crows in the White Section Only. The date is 1972. This was a window that I found that had twelve small leaded panes. And I decided to put images in those windows of advertisements of that are of a derogatory nature, of black men.
So it starts out with an infant becoming alligator bait. A cigar box for hambone. Old Black Joe's butter beans. Darky toothpaste. A banjo player, a watermelon eater. The American flag with a Klansman. All of the things that were that were in advertisements and other media that were derogatory towards black men. I also did quite a few assemblages with derogatory images, the Liberation of Aunt Jemima, images of Uncle Tom. Images of pickaninnies. All sorts of objects were invented to keep black people in servitude. I decided to to use this to make a statement about my feeling of racism.