CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK ARTS: AN ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY by J. Otis Powell! 'Revisionist history' has become a phrase with negative connotations in some circle of power in America. It's not surprising that it is from within the circles of dominant culture power that the negative slant has grown, for they perceive that history needs no revising. For those involved in the Civil Rights Movement, the Women?s Movement, the Labor Movement and any people's struggle to overcome disenfranchisement, revising occurs as an organic result of telling it from our perspectives. Given the exclusiveness of official history, it's time to revise and retell the sagas of American conquest from perspectives that represent other sides of the story. Hardly anyone would argue that we have made noticeable progress in America because of and since the era of the Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movements. A backward glance at lives and events from the middle fifties through the early seventies carries one back through struggles that changed the shapes and colors of American culture. Visual artist Del Bey started this project with goals of preservation and education, for as she said, "Every generation must be educated about the history of African Americans to acknowledge and understand why there was ever a need for a Civil Rights Movement." As important as reminders of the struggle that has gone before is a continuous monitoring of how progress is made, for the struggle continues. Though the advances made because of the Civil Rights Movement may be more evident than those of the Black Arts Movement, the overall effects are equally significant. Writer and activist Kalamu ya Salaam put it this way,"I think what Black Arts did was inspire a whole lot of Black people to write. Moreover, there would be no multiculturalism movement without Black Arts. Latinos, Asian Americans, and others all say they began writing as a result of the example of the 1960s. Blacks gave the example that you don't have to assimilate. You could do your own thing, get into your own background, your own history, your own tradition and your own culture. I think the challenge is for cultural sovereignty and Black Arts struck a blow for that." Movements for Civil Rights and Black Arts worked hand in hand to elevate the image of African culture in America and to announce, with pride, that we were here to stay and to "say it loud" that we were people who mattered in the fabric of America. In addition to other peoples of color catching the spirit, the Women's Movement was given a shot in the arm because of the struggles waged by Black Americans. That is because embedded in the philosophy of the movement was an idea that none of us could truly be free until all of us are free. The views expressed in these interviews are varied and often disagree with each other, but the critical fact of their existence is that someone, namely Del Bey, thought enough of these human beings to document their images and voices. That is a true sign of progress. Our greatest hope for democracy in America is to make space for relatively unheard voices and to give prominence to invisible faces. Our documents tell our stories. It is the competing of all of the world's stories that makes the world such an interesting and dynamic place. Integrating revised stories into educational institutions and official representations of American media is the part of the struggle that continues. When we tell our stories society changes because new stories create space for a new world. Thanks to J'Otis Powell! for editing the interviews.

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