Early Inspiration

Kerry James Marshall was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1955 where he experienced the impacts of significant politically charged events throughout his lifetime. His passion for art began in kindergarten, where he recalls being inspired by an art scrapbook his teacher let him view as a reward, sparking a lifelong commitment to “make magical pictures” (Marshall 41). Marshalls personal experience growing up in public housing projects and his exposure to the Civil Rights Movement lead him to witness the Birmingham protests in 1963, where he observed demonstrators being suppressed with police dogs and water hoses shaped his views on social issues that directly impacted him and his community. Marshall later experienced the Watts riots in Los Angeles and spent time living close to the headquarters of the Black Panthers. Marshal can be quoted in an article by The Greater Des moines Public Art Foundation saying, “You can’t be born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1955 and grow up in South Central [Los Angeles] near the Black Panthers headquarters, and not feel like you’ve got some kind of social responsibility. You can’t move to Watts in 1963 and not speak about it. That determined a lot of where my work was going to go.”

These experiences led Marshall to develop a passion on speaking up on civil rights and social injustices as he recalls feeling a “social responsibility” referring to the substance he pours into his art and the voices his paintings echo to their viewers.