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INTRODUCTION
1.1 –WHY THE BLACK CHURCH?
A SURVEY OF VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS &
THE BLACK CHURCH
Throughout my life, there have been many welcomed and unwelcomed changes. From relocating to different cities and moving homes, to changing jobs, and moving through different social circles, the church has been a consistent presence in my life. outside of school and home, I can’t think of another place where I’ve spent so much time.
This time has been spent in the sum- mer overheating on pews as a parishioner, an embittered skeptic and now a member of my church’s leadership. It is because of this complex, yet persistent relationship that I’ve decided to study visual communications and the Black church.
Before we start, it is important to diffe- rentiate the Black Church in the United States and the Black Church that covers the entire African diaspora. Historians have found evi- dence of Christian and Islamic African nations that predate the beginning of European colonialization and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. I want to focus on the Black Church in America because I have an intimate rela- tionship with this institution.
I also believe the Black Church in the United States is an incredible place to dis- cuss the double consciousness that confronts many Black Americans. Double conscious- ness as W.E.B. DuBois explains it implies that Black people have to struggle to main- tain their Black identity while existing in a dominant White society. Consequently, it is difficult to discuss the Black Church in the United States without discussing slaves or the conversion of slaves by White slave owners.
However, in an effort to clarify my focus for this thesis, I will try my best to avoid devolving every observation to sim- ple cause and effect. I do not want to assert that one action by White people caused an action in the Black community. This removes the brilliance, reclaimed auto- nomy, and creativity demonstrated by Black people throughout American history.
I must be honest. I wrestled with the relevance of this subject matter for several reasons. Chief among these reasons is the cur- rent mass exodus and disdain that some Black communities have for the church at-large. Ironically, this is also a reason that the Black church should be remembered, as it may never regain the prominence that we saw in the past.
Furthermore, the Black church have not always addressed the needs of their commu- nities and some congregations have been extensions of the oppression brought on by White Supremacy. These churches have adop- ted conservative views that have positioned them in opposition to those that seek radical social progress. In addition, there have been predatory financial practices, exploitation of the homosexual communities, and non-bibli- cal traditions that have contributed to this exodus. However, the focus of this explora- tion follows the joy, creativity, and culture cultivated during the Black church’s existence.
Initially, as a kid we attended strictly Black churches. Eventually, my mother ven- tured out to churches with mostly white con- gregants. Each congregation’s unique culture allowed me to become someone different. At our Black churches, I felt cool and learned to be like other black kids. The church was a more intimate setting than school, so I could learn more about Black pop culture and other things that my mom didn’t allow in the house.
At school, our downtime was limited between lectures and coursework. In church, I could sit in the back and have conversa- tions that lasted the entirety of the sermon. I learned about girls, the latest video games, and developed my sense of humor. Jonesin’ or roasting was a huge part of this time spent together. We would coarsely joke with one another until an adult stopped us or one of my peers became visibly aggravated.
Another added benefit of growing up in the Black church was the style of teaching that came from the pulpit. Some of the pas- tors were not highly educated and they lea- ned heavily on narrative and metaphors to get a point across. This helped me identify patterns and make my own observations in life. Any situation could be “sermonized” or at least communicated in a way that seemed meaningful. I can’t think of a better way to learn abstraction and relatability for a future graphic designer.
The church also taught me about code- -switching. You behaved differently in the pre- sence of adults and saintly children. Adults and the “saintly” children would cause trou- ble for you at home so you had to avoid them at all costs. At the white churches, I could talk like the white kids on TV. I could also freely dress differently and not be restricted to what was seen as fashionable by many of my Black peers.
Many of my new white church friends were baseball players so I could easily beat them at basketball. It felt to be good at some- thing. My multiple identities in the church led me to see how valuable moving in these different environments was to my develop- ment as a person and a designer. Admittedly, these experiences did cause a bit of confu- sion as I got older and tried to parse the genuine portions from those that I develo- ped to assimilate.
College was a difficult time for me and I began to view my upbringing in the church in a different light. Church became a burden. It was a yoke that confined me. It forced me to play a role that didn’t fit in my new life. I grew up learning to be sanctimonious and when I attended college my reasoning didn’t hold up in late-night debates.
The form of Christianity I was taught leaned heavily on being close-minded to outside influences as to not corrupt my upbringing. This lead to ignorance in a lot of areas and my hypocrisy was exposed by my college friends. It didn’t take long for me to shed my lifelong beliefs and adopt a new more fluid belief system. While I identify with the teaching of the Bible, I disagree with some cultural liberties taken by religious leaders. Many of these changes in stance were a direct result of reading authors that shared conflicting views. I also continued to have conversations with college friends. My spiritual journey has been one of extremes and overcorrection has that settled into a more balanced worldview. The design community is currently going through its own upheaval of biased stances and I am hopeful that it settles in a place that provides balance and inclusion. verall, believing in Jesus and attending weekly services gave me a context by which I can interact with the world. It showed me the power of obsession and devotion. I have used this to my advantage as an athlete, musician, and designer. It also taught me the pain of unrequited sacrifice exhibited between church mothers and church leadership – women who worked long hours and often received little more than assurance of a pleasant afterlife.
When I began studying for my master’s, the first article I came across was in a Steven Heller book titled The Education of a Graphic Designer. The book is a collec- tion of essays about educating designers.
I was intrigued by an essay written by the late Sylvia Harris essay titled, Searching for a Black Aesthetic.1 I was struck profoundly by how eloquent Harris addressed the pro- blems that designers face in their education and industry. She spoke at length about how young Black designers exhibit insecurities that negatively affect their performance. As a black designer, I have faced insecurities rooted in my inability to find myself in my work. As I previously mentioned, when I ventured into different areas I began to code- -switch. This allowed me to reflect the values of those that were around me but I seldomly investigated my own values.
Harris continues to say that a lack of exposure to prevailing aesthetics also puts black designers at a disadvantage. This is another rea- son I wanted to explore visual communications in the Black church because some design stu- dents are never introduced to a Black design tradition. However, this was not the case in my design education. I often was told that the Black design tradition I was familiar with was unprofessional or “bad” design. The flyers that I saw for Christian hip-hop shows or bulletins designed by church mothers were not “real” graphic design.
I agree when Harris says that designers work at a disadvantage when they do not feel a kinship with design traditions. Upon further research, I felt affirmed in design decisions that I previously made based on intuition as oppo- sed to industry standards. For instance, an inte- rest of mine has always been to tie-in African visual language with my American sensibili- ties in unique ways. This is the kind of work that folk, as well as trained, artists have been doing for decades. However, it wasn’t until I sought out these artists that I discovered my intuitions were leading me correctly.
Is there a potential design tradition that can fuel Black designers in the same way that Black music traditions fuel Black musicians? This is a question that Harris asks and that I seek to answer by studying visual communi- cations in the Black Church. This is not an exploration that will suffice for all Black desig- ners, but I feel that it will solve a piece of the puzzle. I hope that it also inspires designers from outside of the culture to analyze, attri- bute, and build.
This process has encouraged me to docu- ment my discoveries of existing Black Church aesthetics and pass them along to the design community.
1. Dubois, W.E.B. 2007. SOULS OF BLACK FOLK. OXFORD: Oxford University Press.
2. Heller, Steven. 2015. Education of a Graphic Designer. Simon and Schuster.
CITY KID'S CHILDREN'S CHURCH SERVICE
Ms. West taught us bible stories and life lessons. She taught us about fai- th and being safe around strangers. I vividly remember the murals on the wall and
how they helped set the environment for us as kids.
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