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The Black Arts Council, 1968-1974

This description of the Black Arts Council (BAC) is a summary of the origins of the BAC LACMA and a highlight of its impact on the museum. To create this overview of BAC we have based our work on African American artists of Cecil Fergerson Los Angeles Oral History Transcript: Cecil Fergerson from 1990-1994 (Special Collections Department, University of California, Los Angeles / Online Archive of California) and LACMA’s oral history interview with Fergerson (October 8, 2010).

The Black Arts Council (BAC) was founded in 1968 by the art of Claude Booker LACMA preparers and Cecil Fergerson. The BAC was the driving force behind the African American programming at LACMA, and its activities paved the way for the seminal exhibition “Two Centuries of Black American Art”, organized by the museum in 1976.

The BAC was developed out of a series of casual conversations between Booker and Fergerson, who were concerned about the lack of coverage African American artists received by the public, but were inspired by the success of a Black Cultural Festival, a festival of one day held at the museum on September 28, 1968. Coordinated by Sergeant William Knight and organized entirely by museum officials in conjunction with the exhibition, The Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, a Black cultural festival offers a full program of music, dance, fashion, conferences and tours by staff. Booker and Fergerson were willing to continue developing similar events and programming at LACMA. It is planned to form a support network for black art and artists in Los Angeles and make the museum more accessible and welcoming to African Americans.

As employees of LACMA, LACMA uses Fergerson Booker and advice related to conservation departments as a model organization for the newly created group. However, because the BAC was not affiliated with the department or donors, they struggled to attract membership in LACMA. So they redirected their efforts outside the museum and became active participants of the black community arts. The first meetings were held in a local church and featured artist talks and lectures illustrated with slides. The first artist and gallery members include Gloria Bohanon, Dan R. Concholar, Alonzo Davis, Marion Epting, David Hammons, Raymond Lark, Leonard Leo, John Outterbridge, John Riddle, Jr. Arenzo Smith, Donald Stinson, John Stinson, Ruth Waddy, Timothy Washington, and Charles White.

Enthusiasm for the BAC membership and grew rapidly. Booker and Fergerson wanted to legitimize the group’s activities and had the help of Stanley J. Sanders, a lawyer and Rhodes scholar from Watts, who helped in the preparation of bylaws for the organization structure. The proposals would mean a higher BAC management attention for LACMA as an official organization with designated leaders: Booker as president, Fergerson as secretary, Sanders as an administrator, Donald Dowd as treasurer, and Bob Heliton as the graphic artist.