Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery to Reconstruction

This piece was made by Aaron Douglas and is a panel series of four murals. The four panels revealed the emergence of Black America, beginning with life in Africa and tracing the history of African Americans through slavery, emancipation, and the rebirth of African traditions. Slavery Through Reconstruction answered a crucial calling. It was 1934 – the peak of the Great Depression and the philosopher Alain Locke inspired the Harlem Renaissance. Aaron Douglas was one of the artists who filled this need. The Federal Arts Project funded him with a New York Public Library project. The mission was to: create murals about the African American experience. This painting focuses on African Americans after the Civil War. Douglas reveals a transition from the left side of the painting to the right. It represents traveling from the pre-war South to the post-war North.

New York Public Library

Aaron Douglas

1934