“Where some may see flat, static narratives, I see a spectrum of tonal gradations and realities. What I am creating is literally black portraiture with ballpoint pen ink. I'm looking for that in-between state in an individual where the overarching definition is lost. Skin as geography is the terrain I expand by emphasizing the specificity of blackness, where an individual’s subjectivity, various realities and experiences can be drawn onto the diverse topography of the epidermis. From there, the possibilities of portraying a fully-fledged person are endless.” MayPersonsStatesRealityIndividualLostBlackPossibilityCreatingSkinsDefinitionsVariousEndlessNarrativeFlatsPensDiverseInkSpectrumGeographyStaticBlacknessSubjectivityTerrainPortrayingPortraitureSpecificityTopographyBallpoint Pens Author:Toyin Odutola
“You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind....Cain slew his brother. Can might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin.” HumansHas BeensMightBlackLinesHuman BeingsLordClassMankindBrotherHabitBlessingLowsSkinsMarkNosesFlatsMight Have BeenDeprivedDisagreeablePriesthoodCainHuman FamilyMormonismTerminationUncouthBlack Skin Author:Brigham Young
“A flat black bug, that is London.” BlackLondonFlatsBugs Book:The Sky Above the Roof: Fifty-six Poems Source: The Sky Above the Roof: Fifty-six Poems
“It was an unwritten law that black comics were not permitted to work white nightclubs. You could sing and you could dance, but you couldn't stand flat-footed and talk; that was a no-no.” LawBlackWhiteFlatsUnwrittenNightclubs Author:Dick Gregory
“I don't see black people as victims even though we are exploited. Victims are flat, one- dimensional characters, someone rolled over by a steamroller so you have a cardboard person. We are far more resilient and more rounded than that. I will go on showing there's more to us than our being victimized. Victims are dead.” PeoplePersonsCharacterBlackGoes OnVictimAfrican AmericanFlatsBlack PeopleResilient Author:Kristin Hunter
“I didn't realize, when I decided to be a comic, that a black person had never been allowed to stand flat-footed in America and talk to white folks. It never happened before.” PersonsAmericaBlackRealizingWhiteHappenedDecidedFolksComicFlatsBlack Person Author:Dick Gregory
“Phunny Business is a breezy, vivid, funny, star-studded and delightful valentine to comedy, entrepreneurship and the All-American impulse to make something out of nothing. The story of comedy club owner/inveterate dreamer Raymond Lambert and his heroic quest to create a safe, productive place for black stand-up comedians to hone their craft and find their voices isn't just a great Chicago story and a great comedy story: it's a flat-out great story, lovingly and engagingly told.” StoriesStarsBlackVoiceComedySafeClubsCraftsEntrepreneurshipImpulseComedianProductiveOwnersFlatsChicagoDreamerHeroicQuestsValentineDelightfulVividStand Up ComedianComedy ClubsBreezyGreat Comedy Author:Nathan Rabin