<I>Uphold Your Men</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1971
name: label: Created by
content: Carolyn Mims Lawrence, American, born 1940
label: Subject of
content: AfriCOBRA, founded 1968
label: Signed by
content: Carolyn Mims Lawrence, American, born 1940
label: Signed by
content: Gerald Williams, American, born 1941
label: Signed by
content: Napoleon Jones-Henderson, American, born 1943
label: Signed by
content: Jae Jarrell, American, born 1935
label: Signed by
content: Howard R. Mallory Jr., American, 1930 - 2012
label: Signed by
content: Barbara Jones-Hogu, American, 1938 - 2017
notes: label: Caption
content: Carolyn Mims Lawrence was an original member of the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA), an American artist collective founded in 1968. AfriCOBRA’s primary mission was “the liberation of Black people through the arts.” The group espoused several visual and philosophical principals, including promoting positive aspects of African and African American history and culture. Uphold Your Men is an excellent example of AfriCOBRA’s interest in reflecting Black beauty and heritage through imagery. For example, the woman in Lawrence’s print wears her hair in the afro style, and her necklace is adorned with an ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol that means life. Her incorporation of bold, graphic text also emphasizes the importance of unity within African American communities, in this instance, the essential role Black men occupy within the family unit.
label: Description
content: This colorful silk screen print depicts a female figure wearing a long red dress in the center of the image. She wears a blue ankh necklace, an Afro hairstyle, and has a spiral symbol on her forehead. She stands with her arms crossed, against a red and orange background with graphic shapes and letters in bright yellow, blue, and green with black accents. The letters spell out [UPHOLD YOUR MEN] across the top and [UNIFY YOUR FAMILIES] across the bottom. The artist's signature is in blue in the bottom right corner of the image. The print is also signed along the bottom margin in pencil by the artist and several AfriCOBRA members: Gerald Williams, Napoleon Henderson, Jae Jarrell, Howard R. Mallory, Jr. and Barbara Jones-Hogu.
place: label: Place made
content: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Gender
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: BAM (Black Arts Movement 1965-1976)
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: 2014.130.4
objectType: label: Type
content: screen prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown – Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: printing ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 30 × 24 in. (76.2 × 61 cm)