Every February, Black History Month celebrates the multitude of cultural contributions from African Americans. At AHC, we recognize that there is a long history of pioneers that have played a crucial role in making Oakland a culturally rich and vibrant city. We have encouraged our students to learn about and uplift historical figures through our art classes and leadership training programs.
As an arts organization deeply rooted in Oakland, we celebrate the legacy of three Black Bay Area artists:
Frances Dunham Catlett
Frances Dunham Catlett received a degree in social work from UC Berkeley in 1948, becoming one of the first Black social workers in the East Bay. She went on to receive a Masters in Art degree from Mills College in Oakland and began painting in her medium of choice, acrylics.
“When I decided that I was going to work with the problems of Black women, I was going to try and make people see them as beautiful, dignified, strong people; I had to take the art to our people….and get art by our people into museums.” Catletts work has been shown at the Richmond Art Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Oakland Museum of California. Catlett had over fifty individual exhibitions of her work during her lifetime.
Catlett was known to many as a “Bohemian Spirit” and remained vibrant through her later years (she lived to 105). While describing her work she said, "I am especially sensitive to the mystery of the universe….the beauty of nature and dancing through it all. The air is never empty."
Morris “Morrie” Turner
Morris “Morrie” Turner was born in Oakland, California, on December 11th, 1923. He began drawing caricatures when he was in the 5th grade. With the passage of time, he kept nurturing his creativity by shifting from simple caricatures to cartoon strips.
Upon graduating from high school, Turner was drafted into the army and trained as a mechanic. Turner continued to illustrate cartoons and began submitting work to the military newspaper, “Stars and Stripes.”
He befriended “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, who encouraged Turner to produce his own work. In 1965 Morrie created the comic Wee Pals, the first syndicated comic strip to feature ethnic diversity. The strip was originally carried by five newspapers, and was picked up by over 100 outlets following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Wee Pals was eventually developed into a TV show and aired on ABC’s KGO-TV in San Francisco.
“I like writing about children and for children,” Turner said in 2002. “They are so honest and forward, and they will tell you the truth.” He wrote several books for children, including The Illustrated Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Turner was honored by Children’s Fairyland in Oakland and has been inducted into the California Public Education Hall of Fame.
Raymond Saunders
Raymond Saunders is known for his fiercely independent ideology and visual approach, combining urban imagery with modernism. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology before going on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree from California College of Arts in 1961.
In 1967 he released a pamphlet/manifesto called Black is a Color, which challenged the premise that some artists produce work that can be uniquely identified as “Black Art”.
“Racial hang-ups are extraneous to art. No artist can afford to let them obscure what runs through all art–the living root and the ever-growing aesthetic record of human spiritual and intellectual experience. Can’t we get clear of these degrading limitations, and recognize the wider reality of art, where color is the means and not the end?”
- Raymond Saunders, Black is a Color, 1967
Saunders' career was unique, and not confined to traditional exhibitions. In 1984 he created limited edition posters for the 1984 Olympic Games, and that same year he illustrated the original book cover for David Mamet’s award-winning play Glengarry, Glen Ross.
He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts Awards. Sanders' work has been exhibited at The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Supporting the artists of tomorrow
As a Bay Area nonprofit, we are committed to supporting the next generation of BIPOC Oakland artists. Our award-winning program, ArtEsteem empowers students by integrating the arts with classroom core content in support of academic achievement. Since 1995, AHC programs have served over 67 at-risk schools and their communities. We believe that artistic expression manifests solutions that have the potential to lift communities out of poverty, enable racial healing and bridge learning, language and technology gaps. Consider making a recurring donation to support our efforts towards building a better, safer, more equitable and beautiful world.