Why+Negroes+are+Black



There is a lot going on in this picture. The man in the bottom has his arms outstretched, and they reach from one side of the painting to the other. I can’t help but think of this man as God or some God-like figure. His reach encompasses all of humanity (depicted in this painting at least), the horse and the carriage and all the stars that it is carrying. All the women in this painting are interesting too. First of all, they are all women; there are no men here besides the man at the bottom. They also appear to be hanging, which is slightly disturbing. They all seem to be suspended by the red lines coming out of their necks, but at a second look, they look almost wing-like. Maybe they are the depiction of angels. However, if you look at their feet, they seem to be dangling as if they were hanging.

I chose this image for the story “Why Negroes are Black.” The relationship between the man and the women seem to suggest that they are waiting on him, and his outstretched arms suggest that his is giving something out, such as their color. The woman on the right has her arm upraised, as if impatient for something. In the story, all the people are rushing to God, stumbling over one another, trying not to miss a thing. They all are colored, even God, which is interesting. Maybe it was the black man, and not the white man, that was truly made in the image of God.

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