This exhibition is a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, a leading institution within the Black/Africana Studies movement in the United States. The Africana Studies and Research Center emerged in the late 1960s, primarily resulting from the concerns of African American students about the Eurocentric focus of American universities. These students desired to seek knowledge and an understanding of the history, politics, and culture of Black people in Africa and the Diaspora and to examine the role of Africans and people of African descent in the development of human civilization. Such concerns are in essence similar to the impetus that gave rise to the Black Arts Movement in the artistic and literary domains.

In theory and practice, artists of the Black Arts Movement have been a major driving force in the growth of a remarkable and rich aesthetic and style uniting people of African descent all over the world. They produced a range of authentic voices and a rich body of artwork that is truly "Trans-African," as described by artist and scholar Jeff Donaldson.

This exhibition does not claim to be comprehensive or representative of all the groups, movements, and artists who worked in different cities across the United States. Rather, it focuses selectively on works by artists who joined in forming groups such as AfriCobra, Where We At, Spiral, and Weusi, as well as Kindred Spirits, artists who operated independently within the same aesthetic and ideological framework. Exhibited also are Pioneers, independent masters whose impressive body of work exerted a tremendous influence on the Black Arts Movement, and Pan-African artists who have shared similar concerns. A special section of this exhibition is devoted to themes of the American flag, racist stereotypes, and the legacy of absence as confronted in the work of artists associated with the Black Arts Movement, as well as the neglected tradition of African American Abstraction. Finally, a sampling of younger artists’ works reflects the emerging discourses in the fields of Black art and visual culture from gender and feminist perspectives.