This print was created by combining multiple styles. I used comic illustration techniques for the plane, a more fully rendered style for the people, and graphic design for the other visual elements. These are real pilots and real information about the Tuskegee Airmen.
History is Culture
We don’t just study ruins and tombs, we study the people who made them and why they did it. Traditionally history was written by the winners and those with the most power. But there are many more stories to tell, many more people who helped create the world we live in today. History is everyone.
History is now
Every culture today is a direct result of what came before. We don’t necessarily have to feel guilty for things our ancestors did hundreds of years ago but it is our responsibility to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. Part of that responsibility is elevating voices that were often ignored or marginalized. The print I created above commemorates the Tuskegee Airmen. In a time when the U.S. armed services was still segregated along color lines, the government formed a group comprised of people of color. The pilots, ground crew, and support staff of the Tuskegee Airmen performed admirably and inspired man other people of color. But that’s only a small part of their story and only one story of many about marginalized people contributing more to history than we often know. As Jeanne Theoharis tells us in her book, “A More Beautiful and Terrible History,” the complete story is painful but also a powerful one of human resilience.