TRACK: For artist Tyler Jones, the connection between history and art is deeply personal. Jones got his start creating live art at a jazz nightclub where his mother was performing. But today he’s painting a portrait of Anna Julia Cooper—a pioneering Raleigh figure whose advocacy for women’s education is often overlooked. Through his work, Jones aims to reclaim narratives that he thinks have been distorted over time.
TYLER JONES: I feel like I have a responsibility almost of reversing a lot of the stuff that has been used to portray black culture and Afro-centrism as negative.
TRACK: Other artists have their own unique approach to storytelling through art. Coming a long way from barely being able to trace Toucan Sam, Lord Phly is a muralist, curator, and creative consultant from Raleigh who frequently collaborates with the City of Raleigh Museum. He emphasizes the importance of seeing history as something that’s always being written.
LORD PHLY: The things that we’re doing in the now, the things that got us all to this point, I believe that’s black history.
TRACK: For artist Jermaine Powell, creating art is a way of marking time, of leaving a legacy that extends beyond his own life.
JERMAINE POWELL: You only have a certain amount of days, and minutes, and seconds on this Earth. So the things I create are a record of that experience.
TRACK: Pinkie Strother got her start in art by creating her own paper dolls from scratch in elementary school. Now, however, her work is driven by a desire to share the richness of Black culture .
PINKIE STROTHER: I want people to know about the spirit and the greatness of black people.
TRACK: These artists are helping create spaces to shape narratives, inspire future generations, and ensure that their contributions to culture and history are never forgotten. Creating new black history.
TAG: In Raleigh, I’m Dani Hart, reporting.
