ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how both literary and visual artists used their unique talents to present a different and new perspective of black womanhood. Mary Edmonia Lewis and Nella Larsen created distinct pictures of Americans of African descent, with an emphasis on the portrayals of women. From Nella Larsen to Maya Angelou and on to bell hooks, the Euro-American language of categorization and repudiation is no more. These women have rewoven the narratives of black womanhood and repurposed the contradictions of “inbetweeness” to emphasize the vibrant potency and value found within the African American community. Together, their works have shed the confines of societal definition to declare the humanity, pride, and freedom of a people. Both Angelou and Elizabeth Catlett used their art to give agency, to provide awareness, and to empower a generation of black women and men to persevere even in the face of rejection and resistance.
