<I>Untitled (To Be Young, Gifted and Black)</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2022
name: label: Created by
content: Jeffrey Kent, American, born 1963
label: Subject of
content: Nina Simone, American, 1933 - 2003
notes: label: Caption
content: This painting belongs to a series of self-portraits in which Baltimore-based artist Jeffrey Kent faces the viewer wearing a hoodie, with the words “NO THREAT” superimposed over the image. The reversed lettering signals Kent’s own struggles with dyslexia in a bid for empathy toward people with unseen challenges. More broadly, the painting addresses the vulnerability and fear experienced by some African Americans today when they are perceived as a threat to those around them without cause. The direct but obscured gaze and layered text challenge the viewer to confront their own preconceptions. The title, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, offers a counterpoint by referencing Nina Simone’s 1971 song about the limitless potential of young African Americans.
label: Description
content: An acrylic painting by Jeffrey Kent. The artwork depicts the artist wearing a red, pink, green, purple, and blue hooded sweatshirt and tan colored pants. He is standing with his hands in the hoodie’s pockets and the hood over his head. The face, outlined in blue, is black and featureless under the hood except for two large blue circles for eyes. Across the portrait bold, black letters painted in reverse spell out [NO THREAT]. The background is reddish tan. The painting is in a wood frame (2025.13b).
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Race discrimination
label: Topic
content: Resistance
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Exhibition
content: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Neil Didriksen
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2025.13ab
objectType: label: Type
content: acrylic paintings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Jeffrey Kent
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acrylic on canvas
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (canvas): 69 5/8 × 51 5/8 × 2 in. (176.8 × 131.1 × 5.1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (frame): 72 × 54 × 2 3/4 in. (182.9 × 137.2 × 7 cm)