How Anger Can Be A Source Of Healing And Freedom

New to this middle school, Kara Walker tried to fit in – until a white boy laughed, saying she looked like a monkey. Hurt, she started skipping classes instead, hiding in the library. But what she found there angered her even more.

Her father’s books showed positive Black images, but white books in the library showed us as simple minded buffoons. She vowed to one day become an artist and set the record straight. But it wasn’t that easy.

 When she got to art school, she nearly cried. She was expected to study these racist lies. How could she fight this now? 

After college, she decided to confront how society romanticized slavery and perpetuated stereotypes as sub-human and natural servants – by inserting the Black presence in historical white art.

Her provocative work re-established our presence where previously we were made invisible. She used her anger to tell the truth. 

Walker’s work has been embraced worldwide for its honesty. No one would again look at antebellum art and not see the blatant brutality, subjugation, and hypocrisy.

When we allow ourselves to embrace our anger, we empower ourselves to challenge the systems that need us to be happy and quiet instead of boldly telling the truth.