Aaron Douglas is remembered as one of the most influential visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance, who used stylized aspects of African and African-American folk imagery to address social and racial issues in his art. His 1934 painting Song of the Towers is part of a four-part mural series, Aspects of Negro Life, which was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a relief program for artists under the New Deal. In the final panel, Song of the Towers references the impact of the Great Migration and depicts the arrival to New York City. The painting is full of references to the new industry in the North, bringing together skyscrapers, smokestacks, and machine cogs. While this imagery represents the potential for new jobs, it is also a warning about the American dream: the new black community in Harlem could become a mere cog in the giant wheel of the city.

Learn more about the work that inspired this pin HERE.