01/27/2024
Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA My relationship with Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, USA dates to November 2008 when I first met Dr. Robert Franklin who at the time was the President of Morehouse, and Prof. Terry Mils the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. The HBCU (HBCU stands for historically Black colleges and universities.” ) College is one of the top five black universities in the USA. The College, a private all-men’s liberal arts institution is on the list of black colleges considered as black Ivy League colleges although smaller it is tied to national rankings and offers world class facilities and education. In the late 90’s Its alumni database includes well known US businessmen and leaders including the likes of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, President Barach Obama, Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee. I decided to approach Morehouse College to moderate the manuscript of my book identifying and defining what I believed to be a black “art movement” or “school of art” active and existing in Soweto, South Africa. I also wanted the knowledge, artworks and research available to scholars of the liberal arts should anything untoward happen to me.
In Dr. Franklin’s words;
“The Morehouse College collection of artworks by the “Soweto School of Art 1960-2010” is the only of its kind in existence outside of South Africa. In his 1821 essay, “A Defense of Poetry,” Shelley wrote that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” He affirmed the power of art to present history and truth as they are experienced, and the world as it could and should be. The best artists hold up a mirror in which we may see ourselves, often discovering hidden dimensions of the self, and they invite us to imagine better selves, better worlds. Some art is transformative, demanding that change follow the encounter. The artists of the Soweto School of Art welcome you into their studios and into their lives hoping that you will appreciate some of the range of human emotion they have captured in paint on canvass. During the long period of oppression and exclusion experienced by black South Africans in their homeland, these artists became historians and messengers of their cultures. But they were also witnesses to deeply personal hopes, charms, fears, pain, and rage, all emotions that are common to the human experience.
I hope that those who view the pieces here will be enlightened and inspired by the paintings, notes, and commentary. Students of the humanities will have much to discover and debate long into the future. Indeed, students and art enthusiasts around the world should have a conversation about the personal and political meanings of art. This is a conversation that we framed at Morehouse College years ago. Many people are aware that Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia is one of America’s premier liberal arts colleges that is committed to fostering an understanding of cultures around the globe with special attention to their artistic and creative expression as they reflect the actual circumstances of people’s lives.
The college’s Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities, Dr. Terry Mills and I met with Martin G. Britz, a South African art collector, curator, philanthropist, and pastor who presented us with the manuscript of his book, “South African Fine Art – The Soweto School of Art 1960-2010.” His manuscript was the product of 25 years of interviews, research, collecting, documenting, and archiving the stories, histories, and art of a group of thirty black male artists from Soweto, South Africa. Since Morehouse had welcomed and educated many South African students over the years, and we supported efforts aimed at creating a democratic multiracial society in South Africa and elsewhere, we saw possibilities for a fruitful partnership. We wanted to learn more.”
~ Rev. Dr. Robert M. Franklin President Emeritus Morehouse College
