BLK History 2022
Rafael Cepeda Atiles by Adrian and Cheryl Linn Glass by Rob
It’s mid February and we thought it would be nice to include a little bit of Black history for the homies who appreciate it. Every year Brooklyn based artist Adrian “Viajero” Roman and Rob Liu-Trujillo do a series of art featuring lesser known Blk folks. Check it out and follow Adrian and Rob on IG to see their posts throughout the month.
Ok here’s one from Adrian:
Rafael Cepeda Atiles a.k.a. "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena" was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as the exponents of Afro-Puerto Rican folk music.
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Cepeda was born into a family who have passed the traditional dances of the Bomba and Plena from generation to generation. The Bomba is a music, rhythm and dance that was brought to Puerto Rico by the West African slaves. The Plena is another form of folkloric music of Puerto Rico of African origin. According to Cepeda, he was born while his mother Leonor was in the middle of a Bomba dance.
Read the entire post here.
“Creating the series of Puerto Rican Black History posts came to mind while I was creating my Caras Lindas children’s books. I wanted to highlight important Black Puerto Ricans. Those that preserve our African heritage, those that promote and celebrate our blackness with pride and dignity, and those that contributed to changing the issues related to the black experience in America.” - Adrian “Viajero” Roman
Here’s one from Rob:
“Cheryl Linn Glass was born in Seattle Washington in 1961. She is the oldest of two and developed an interest in racing at a young age. She began racing as a kid in quarter midget cars, then moving up to half midget, then wingless Sprinter cars. Having encouraging parents, she and her sister developed a great love for racing. She graduated high school at 16 and turned pro at 18. The cars she drove at her height used v8 engines and went at least 120 mph. Her goal was to make it to the Indianapolis 500 and then Formula 1. She is the first African American woman to be a professional race car driver. She…….”
Read the entire post here.
“What I kept seeing year after year was a recycling of the same folks. Not only by others but often by Black media sources or influencers! I was checking out Joel Crisitian Gill who came up with the #28DaysAreNotEnough and art challenges like #Inktober and decided why not invite other folks to do it too? This year with artist Fred Noland we’re trying to highlight some folks you don’t normally hear about. Especially activists, queer Blk people, and folks outside of just music or sports!” -Rob Liu-Trujillo/Tres
Adolfina Villanueva Osorio via Adrian’s IG
Rob made this short video about Phase 2 while also talking about how students, fellow artists, etc could join or contribute by making art highlighting hidden figures of BLK history during the month of February.
Some of the other folks Rob has shared this year are:
Gladys Bentley- Gender fluid blues musician
Jerry Lawson- Pioneering video game engineer
The Warehouse- Queer Blk club that birthed House music
Stay tuned for more and check out the last Winter playlist for 2021/22