American art shows us the reality and effects of racism and slavery, and often points the way to social justice.
![Kerry James Marshall, <em>Now And Forever</em>; Elizabeth Alexander, “American Song,” Washington National Cathedral](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/WashingtonCathedralThumb-scaled.jpg)
Kerry James Marshall, Now And Forever; Elizabeth Alexander, “American Song,” Washington National Cathedral
Kerry James Marshall and Elizabeth Alexander create words and images that fill the Washington National Cathedral with hope.
![Gee’s bend, quilting over generations](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/geesbend-570x350.jpg)
Gee’s bend, quilting over generations
Gee's Bend quilts challenge notions of what is — and what is not — modern art
![Winslow Homer, <em>Taking Sunflower to Teacher</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.25.18-AM-570x350.png)
Winslow Homer, Taking Sunflower to Teacher
Painted during Reconstruction, this sentimental watercolor depicts the hope of transformation and possibility
![Michelle Browder, <i>Mothers of Gynecology</i>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-19-at-2.07.41-PM-570x350.png)
Michelle Browder, Mothers of Gynecology
This memorial honors three women who were victims of medical experimentation by the "father of gynecology"
![Winslow Homer, <i>Army Teamsters</i>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Whole-no-frame-570x350.jpg)
Winslow Homer, Army Teamsters
Is this painting of five men, possibly formerly enslaved, working for the Union Army during the Civil War a product of racist stereotypes, or does it humanize its subjects?
![Literacy and slavery: David Drake, <em>Double-handled jug</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/51625147228_d4c6cc79d4_k-570x350.jpg)
Literacy and slavery: David Drake, Double-handled jug
Enslaved artist David Drake inscribed a poem onto this jug at a time when literacy among enslaved people was outlawed
![The National Memorial for Peace and Justice (Equal Justice Initiative)](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lynching-Memorial-thumb-570x350.jpg)
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice (Equal Justice Initiative)
The first monument to commemorate the over 4,000 African Americans who were lynched in the early 20th century.
![A modern icon: Beauford Delaney’s <i>Marian Anderson</i>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Half-length-all-sharp-570x350.jpg)
A modern icon: Beauford Delaney’s Marian Anderson
Delaney celebrates the famous opera singer Marian Anderson as a modern icon of Black excellence and civil rights
![Slave Burial Ground, University of Alabama](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Screen-Shot-2021-09-29-at-10.29.13-AM-570x350.png)
Slave Burial Ground, University of Alabama
A 2004 plaque is the only marker of burial grounds of enslaved people who died while enslaved by the University of Alabama and its faculty
![Monument Avenue and the Lost Cause](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Monument-Avenue-Small-570x350.jpg)
Monument Avenue and the Lost Cause
A conversation that took place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, just before the last Confederate monument on the boulevard was removed in September 2021
![Vertis Hayes, <em>The Lynchers</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Hayes-grid-570x350.jpg)
Vertis Hayes, The Lynchers
A horrifying painting of racial violence that can help us see where we are and where we need to be in terms of tolerance and empathy