National Racism: We Was Mostly ‘Bout Survival

National Racism: We Was Mostly ‘Bout Survival

From Saar’s 1997 series of washboard assemblages each entitled We Was Mostly ‘Bout Survival comes this lithograph reproduction included in the portfolio Freedom or Slavery: The Paul Robeson Portfolio, celebrating the multi-talented activist, musician, actor, and football player on the 100th anniversary of his birth. The original assemblage from her Workers/Warriors: The Liberation of Aunt Jemima series comprises a washboard with a photograph of a woman washing clothes, here translated into a waved, textured image with the look of distorted hazy memory. Written across the top of the washboard’s wooden frame are the words “National racism,” under which a round label reads “Liberate Aunt Jemima.” The text at the bottom, “We was mostly ‘bout survival,” serves as a reminder of the labor produced by the washerwoman whose liberation, like that of Aunt Jemima, is imagined by Saar. This activist print, based on Saar's assemblage series that imagines Aunt Jemima as both worker and warrior, speaks to the broader theme of activism against racism in Saar's art.

Betye Saar

1998

Color offset lithograph

Collection of Lewis Tanner Moore