Gerald Williams USA, b. 1941
I Am Somebody, 1969
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 48 in
121.9 x 121.9 cm
121.9 x 121.9 cm
6064
Further images
This painting pays homage to the poem 'I Am Somebody,' written by an Atlanta-based Baptist pastor and civil rights activist named Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr. The poem states, 'I...
This painting pays homage to the poem "I Am Somebody," written by an Atlanta-based Baptist pastor and civil rights activist named Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr. The poem states, "I am Somebody! I am Somebody! I may be poor, But I am Somebody. I may be young, But I am Somebody. I may be on welfare, But I am Somebody. I may be small, But I am Somebody. I may have made mistakes, But I am Somebody. My clothes are different, My face is different, My hair is different, But I am Somebody. I am Black, Brown, or White. I speak a different language But I must be respected, protected, never rejected. I am God's child!" Two years after Williams painted this canvas, the Reverend Jesse Jackson recited "I Am Somebody" on an episode of Sesame Street in front of a multi-racial group of children, who together repeatedly recited the chorus of "I Am Somebody."
Provenance
The artist's studio, Chicago, IL, USAKavi Gupta gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Exhibitions
AFRICOBRA 50, 2018, Kavi Gupta gallery, Chicago, IL, USAAfricobra: Messages to the People, 2018, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL, USA
Africobra: Nation Time, 2019, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy