Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) is considered to be the father of Black Art by many. His African-centric imagery came from a unique and blended visual language with African, Egyptian, Art Deco and Cubist elements. As an artist of his time and attuned to social issues, he moved from his roots in Nebraska to Harlem in 1925. He became part of the Harlem Renaissance, a magnetic arts community of vitality and creativity.

The heartbreak of this piece captured in tints and shades of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors is a brilliant, simple statement of capture and powerlessness. Your eyes seem to digest this message slowly as they move from foreground to background and bottom to top. This subtle mixture of the beautiful and ugly is held in place by the beam of light from a single star.

I believe we are challenged here by Aaron Douglas to imagine ourselves in irons with ships approaching. Would we reach for or look to that star? What would our prayer be in this inevitable, unthinkable moment?

This seems our work now for past and present wrongs. We pray to identify with this scene and to craft our prayers for the powerless from this beautiful and startling piece by Aaron Douglas. We give thanks for this artist and his unfortunately timeless statement, Into Bondage.

In gratitude, faith and hope,