HBO's Lovecraft Country is the latest television series to redefine how Black Americanness is shown on screen, and a lot of its power comes from the Black art it draws from, such as Gordon Parks' series of photographs depicting segregated life in Life Magazine, or James Baldwin's theorizing on the Black plight in America. 

 

This talk by Birmingham-based author and blogger Monique L. Jones focused on how Black Americans have used the arts to make their voices heard and issues known even when "mainstream" avenues turned away. Jones included mentions of her 2019 publication The Book of Awesome Black Americans, since Gordon Parks is one of the Black artists featured. She also talked about other Black artists mentioned in the book who pushed America forward. 

 

Jones included her own part of this "Black art" conversation since she helped push Magic: The Gathering forward by assisting to create the card game's first Black female "Planeswalker" (intergalactic time-traveler) character.