<I>Move On Up A Little Higher</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1961
name: label: Created by
content: Charles White, American, 1918 - 1979
notes: label: Caption
content: Charles White’s drawing, Move On Up a Little Higher, interweaves themes of religion, music, visual art, and the struggle for civil rights. The title refers to a gospel song by William Herbert Brewster in the early 1940s. Brewster stated that he wrote the song to “inspire Black people to move up higher,” a dangerous message that could be sung, but not openly said, in the segregated South. Following Mahalia Jackson’s recording of the composition in 1948, “Move On Up a Little Higher” became an iconic song within the Civil Rights Movement.
label: Caption
content: White’s drawing reveals the immense power of Black women within the church, as well as in the struggle for race and gender equality.
label: Description
content: This charcoal and Wolff carbon pencil drawing depicts a monumental woman. She is seated centered left-of-center against a plain background. Gazing downwards with arms upraised, her robe is draped loosely across her lap. It is signed by the artist in the lower right corner.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Christianity
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Gospel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: The Black Church
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2009.6
objectType: label: Type
content: drawings
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © 1961 The Charles White Archive
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: charcoal black and carbon black pencil on illustration board
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 40 1/4 × 48 × 3/16 in. (102.2 × 121.9 × 0.5 cm)