Somethin' About Freedom : Ajuan Mance : Shirley and Sojourner Join the Dapl Protest

Ink and Digital
18” x 24”

Ajuan Mance Artist Statement:

I am a professor of African American literature at Mills College and an instructor in the Illustration and Comics MFA programs at CCA. In both my visual art and my scholarly writing, my focus is on bringing to light those Black lives and legacies that have been overlooked. I am especially interested in the ways that telling the stories of the celebrations, struggles, actions, and accomplishments of Black communities and individuals can transform how people of all ethnicities experience themselves and the world around them. My portraits are informed by sights, sounds, and sensations stored up over my years in Black artist, academic, and activist communities and from my frequent visits to family and friends in the American South. I embrace bright, audacious, and unexpected colors in order to move beyond entrenched stereotypes and create images that reflect the beauty and complexity of Black lives.