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We Who Are Dark

We Who Are Dark

by Trent Tomengo

Visual Arts History

Season 2

Meta Warrick Fuller's Mary Turner

In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss Meta Warrick Fuller's sculpture Mary Turner. Professor Tomengo recounts the circumstances by which he came to teach African American Humanities twenty-four years ago and, by extension, Fuller's Mary Turner. Central to their conversation is how the history of the work has impacted the many students who have taken both their classes down through the years.

Meta Warrick Fuller's The Talking Skull

Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss Meta Warrick Fuller's 1939 sculpture, The Talking Skull. They analyze its metaphoric potential and examine the significance of those metaphors for Black people then and now. The conversation also addresses the Administration of Theodore Rooselvelt, his Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and his handling of the Brownsville Affair of 1906.

Meta Warrick Fuller's The Awakening of Ethiopia

In this eposode Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo analyze Meta Warrick Fuller's classic sculpture, The Awakening of Ethiopia. They begin the conversation by continuing an earlier discussion of United States political parties and both of their personal voting strategies as Black men. The discussion then segues into an analysis of Fuller's sculpture and its importance to establishing a metaphysical Black identity, one rooted in pride and humanity.

Policies of the F.D.R. Adminstration and Black Americans

Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo discuss how the policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt impacted Black Americans negatively, even though their goal was to benefit Americans in general. Special attention is given to policies of The New Deal, particularly the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Federal Housing Adminstration, both of which contributed to the Racial Covenants that would prevent Black land ownership and their subsequent accumulation of resources and wealth. They also discuss the origin of the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) and the Fair Labor Standards Act,

A History of the Political Parties

In this episode Professor Trent Tomengo and Dr. Neil Vaz discuss the history of the political parties and their relationship to Black people in the United States of America.

The Art of Augusta Savage (Part 2)

In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz continue their conversation on the artwork of Augusta Savage, this time giving specific attention to her sculpture Realization. They discuss the importance of her approach to portraying Black people during the Harlem Renaissance and how that approach differed from that of Aaron Douglas.

The Art of Augusta Savage (Part 1)

In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss the life and art of American sculptor Augusta Savage. The conversation centers on Savage's approach to creating sculptures of Black people and her life in the art world of the early 20th Century. Considerable attention is given to her activism, including her discontent with Mary Brady of The Harmon Foundation.

The British Contribution to the American Concept of Race

In this episode, Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo engage in a conversation about the British role in the founding of the United States of America. Key to this discussion are the differences between the British approach to mercantalism and slave-owning and that of the Spanish and the Portuguese. These differences, ultimately, will determine why and how the concept of "race" developed and was enforced in the nascent American psyche.

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

This episode features a detailed discussion of why the Transatlantic Slave Trade developed and how its development slowly decimated local West African economies. Dr. Vaz revisits the topic of European mercantilism, underscoring how initial trade agreements with West Africa led to the eventual fall of some West African kingdoms and the rise of others. Key to the discussion is how these newer kingdoms were founded specifically for the implementation and propagation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade itself.

Season 1

A War of Images: Aaron Douglas's Painting, "Aspirations"

In this episode, Dr. Neil Vaz and Professor Trent Tomengo discuss Aaron Douglas's painting Aspirations from 1936. They analyze Douglas's painting, giving special attention to the war of images that was waged against the proliferation of harmful stereotypes aimed at the Black population. The conversation includes a discussion on the origins of the NAACP and the efficacy of its work, primarily through its Legal Defense Fund.

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