Faith Ringgold

     In 1930, in Harlem, New York, an emerging new artist was born, Faith Ringgold. Ringgold is an African American best known for her painted quilt stories. Influenced by every day life around her and the history of quilting, she began her career as an artist in the late 1950's and 1960's.  (1)
     "Being an artist who has devoted much of my creative energy to the cause of equal understanding among the races, I am particularly interested in what a person would feel, think and do if their racial identity was suddenly changed." (2)
     Many of Ringgolds' artworks focus on race and how the world views people. In her painting done in 1964, God Bless America, Ringgold describes the piece in reference to the Civil Rights movement. A black woman is a prisoner, being denied the right to vote.       (3)
     In the years following, Ringgold decided to start writing children's stories, after her mother past away. Ringgolds' main goal in her books is to teach children to "take flight" and go after their own dreams, much like her mother taught her. (4)


References/Pictures:
(1) nwhp.org

(2) http://www.faithringgold.com/racialquestions/

(3) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/images/frg0067d.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.faithringgold.com/ringgold/d67.htm&h=352&w=231&sz=40&tbnid=XWuj70446x1aoM:&tbnh=277&tbnw=182&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfaith%2Bringgold%2Bgod%2Bbless%2Bamerica&zoom=1&q=faith+ringgold+god+bless+america&hl=en&usg=__S0TXw-C_eSpeTXKm-dDtCKcI1XU=&sa=X&ei=dsufTKLzGZTksQPa9OX3BA&sqi=2&ved=0CBgQ9QEwAA

(4) http://www.ndoylefineart.com/ringgold.html