Strength Within Creativity
Despite oppression, African-American women of the past were able to overcome obstacles by taking on the role of artists. They relied on their creative spirits to carry them through their wretched existence. In Alice Walker’s essay “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” she explains how the mothers and grandmothers of her generation held on to their dignity and strength through their expression of creativity. The boldness represented by this creativity shows the dynamic depth of their souls and the courage they found within it. Walker gives examples of some of these women in her essay and uses this method to effectively express her point. Women such as Mahalia Jackson, Elizabeth Catlett, and Frances Harper were able to rise above negative circumstances from their past by allowing their natural creativity to shine. Alice Walker wrote, “Our mothers and grandmothers, some of them: moving to music not yet written. And they waited. They waited for a day when the unknown thing that was in them would be made known . . . “ (Walker 695). Although they were unable to openly express their creativity, they were able to pass it on to th
Although Mahalia Jackson is not mentioned in Walker’s essay, I believe she is a principal example of being a positive voice for her heritage. eir daughters who would have deserving opportunities to be artists. It is evident that their grandmothers live on through their lives. Although this left them feeling empty, they rose above the situation with inner strength and because of this, artists like Frances Harper are able to bring culture and deep insight to society. Elizabeth Catlett showed strength in her art just as her grandmother showed strength despite oppression which hindered her creativity. Through their role as artists, they found the strength of their mothers and grandmothers and the courage and hope held deep within their souls, the same courage and hope about which Frances Harper wrote. Another woman of great insight into culture was Elizabeth Catlett. Walker wrote, For these grandmothers and mothers of ours were not Saints, but Artists; driven to a numb and bleeding madness by the springs of creativity in them for which there was no release. As an artist, cultural nationalist, and civil rights activist, she believed that black American women were underestimated in their richness and creativity. (Smith 282) Frances Harper was able to use her productive creativity in ways her ancestors never could. She wrote, I’m interested in women’s liberation for the fulfillment of women, not just for jobs and equality with men and so on, but for what they can contribute to enrich the world, humanity. She was so moved by the horrors of slavery that she became a permanent lecturer for the Maine Anti-Slavery Society and later she became the first black American woman to publish a short story. She wanted her art to be realistic.
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Acceptance Essays
