In response to Jills comment. It was just too long to put in the art section Jill.
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1185.240.htmlJill I just called my Mother and read to her what you wrote. She is proud that you are still learning.
It’s only natural for you to think that my Family being African American would have a strong interest
in African American Art. She also wanted me to tell you she loves Highway Art
http://goflorida.about.com/od/blackhistory/a/flahighwaymen.htmJill you exposed me to painters of African descent and I am grateful for that.
I asked my Mother, since I just assumed they figured I would picked it up, did they feel that way.
My parents did feel I would pick up what needed to know about my own culture from different family members. I did not come from a rich family, but they were professional middle class. My Parents, Sibling, and teachers in the neighborhood, introduced me to art outside my African American culture. Things like plays, Orchestra’s, & Symphonies. I can say to this day I still love Puccini which my God-Brother introduced me to. He tried very hard to get me to speak the German Language in our homes. I took German and had the same teacher he had, when she came to teach at my high School. I still remember her name Mrs. Bumgardner in a class of 10 on 1 person was white. She recruited us to take her class.
I wish I would have paid more attention now. Like many other things my family tried to expose me to like 3 different Piano teachers and I can’t play a note. My sister loves tennis, I had lesson sucked at that. Flute lessons, not interest and 2 different teachers as well. I can’t play a note on the flute. I was young and did not understand all these things or why I had to take these classes. I was not forced, but given the opportunity to see if any of them resonated in me and took root and flourished. LOL! I guess my Fathers position was Fund the money and watch!
I was 16 before I even knew my Father could speak Japanese Fluently. We were in Japan and he was talking to Mamasan and she was smiling and blushing. In a park on a bench he spoke to a Japanese man for a long time as they watched the pigeons. My first encounter with racism was not her in America, but in Japan on a train. Some young punks were talking and I could tell my Father was getting upset. What they did not know was that Old Black Man knew everything they were saying. He never told us what their conversations was, but we knew it was not nice. I being more like my father my Mother loves point out to me (in the Negative). I probably would have taken to Japanese if he had tried to teach it to me at a young age. She wanted me to have pearls, I wanted a sword and that’s what I got.
So Jill please do not feel bad your heart was in the right place my Mother wanted you to know.
I do wish my parents had taught me more about black art. I’m happy they expanded my world outside my culture. My other God-brother and me were talking once that how little we knew about or own history at the time, compared to other black people or age. We did not get all that in school. Black history in our school covered Martin Luther King. Totally skipping slavery, but I know much more know as an adult and family members that can remember other family members that have past that actually came out of slavery tell small bits of the harshness from firsthand accounts, which would make your stomach turn. But then there are family members that did very well after slavery.
