Racialized Images Of Black Women In Art Education

Significance and Implications

Racialized images representing Black women were created from the White male gaze that interpreted who was considered beautiful, human, and worthy. The narratives of early European male gaze shaped the image of African women denouncing her femininity as an uncivilized sexual deviant. American colonizers continued the white gaze of captured African women and the visual erasure of the Black woman began. This non-existent attitude toward Black woman has marginalized Black women today and how they identify themselves. This negative thinking from the White male gaze and colonization still affects the K-12 environment and art education. As a result, there is a lack of Black female art educators in secondary education

It bothered me when my students would ask to see examples and the art education books did not offer these images. If we are to believe that art education develops the imagination and opens students to different cultures and creativity, then art education should reflect this in the classroom and the references teachers have to select from. Eisner (2002) contends, “School is like a larger part of society, representation helps the imagination… Art provides the conditions for awakening to the world around us. In this sense, the arts provide a way of knowing” (p.10).

The limited amount of images created by Black female artists in art education is a major concern, especially when art classes are culturally diverse and art books are based on a Eurocentric theme. Even though feminist art educators have discussed the importance of the woman’s perspective in art education, it still remains in higher education and from a White women’s point of view. I question art education’ purpose in the K-12 classroom and the goal of the art educators. How do art educators counter the negative images of Black