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Copyright by Debra Anne Hardy 2015 The Thesis Committee for Debra Anne Hardy Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: And Thus We Shall Survive: The Perseverance of the South Side Community Art Center APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Paul E. Bolin Cristopher O. Adejumo And Thus We Shall Survive: The Perseverance of the South Side Community Art Center by Debra Anne Hardy, B.A. Lib.Arts&Sci. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2015 Dedication To Dr. Margaret Goss Taylor Burroughs. Without her love and commitment to the South Side Community Art Center throughout her lifetime, this thesis would have no voice. Acknowledgements This thesis would not be possible without the many individuals who helped me along the way. First, I want to thank my partner, Robert, who has supported me through everything. Thank you for your unwavering understanding and assistance. I would also like to thank everyone in Chicago who helped aid my research. I would like to extend a huge amount of gratitude to the staff and community members of the South Side Community Art Center who helped and encouraged this exploration. I would like to personally thank Dr. Clinton Nichols, Program and Office Manager, who helped field my endless phone calls and emails, and Arcilla Stahl, former Interim Executive Director, whose stories surrounding the Art Center brought the building to life more than I could possibly imagine. Their dedication help keep the Center persevering in its 75th year. I would like to extend my gratitude to the librarians at Woodson Regional Library and the archivists at the Chicago History Museum, who dedicate their lives to the history of Chicago. I would like to also thank Chris, Elaine, Laura, and Marya, who opened their homes to me while I was researching. They all helped make researching in Chicago a warm and welcoming experience. I also must thank Dr. Paul Bolin, whose support and encouragement helped foster my desire to change how art education looks at its history. I could not have asked for a greater mentor in this fantastic field of art education. Last but not least, I want to thank all of my colleagues I shared the past two years with in the art education program at the University of Texas. Without their continued support and friendship, I would not be the person I am today. v Abstract And Thus We Shall Survive: The Perseverance of the South Side Community Art Center Debra Anne Hardy, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Paul E. Bolin This study investigates The South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, Illinois, an art center founded at the end of the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. The Art Center was only one of a handful of African-American art centers in the nation, and was one of the only locations that black artists could showcase their work proudly on the South Side. An examination is made into the period of time after federal funds were pulled, focusing on 1942-1959, to examine how exactly the Art Center kept its doors open. An overview of the founding of the SSCAC is presented, alongside theoretical lenses used in the crafting of a specific theoretical framework to analyze the Art Center. This study uses historical interpretation of archive data from the SSCAC from 1942-1959. An investigation of archived information found a noticeable gap in data between 1950-1953, leading to the use of historic imagination surrounding the missing material. Using historical imagination, two hypotheses were put forth to explain the lack vi of information found in the archive. First, the historic significance of McCarthyism on black individuals is highlighted. Second, the elusive histories of black women which are often missing from traditional archives is brought forth as a possible explanation for why the data does not seem to exist. The research concludes with a reflection on the difficulty of studying small institutions and specifically the histories of oppressed groups. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ........................................................................1 Introduction to the Study ................................................................................1 Central Research Question ..............................................................................2 Problem Statement ..........................................................................................2 Motivations For Research ...............................................................................4 Personal Motivations .............................................................................4 Professional Motivations .......................................................................6 Hypothesis/Speculation About This Investigation ..........................................7 Research Methods ...........................................................................................8 Definition Of Terms ........................................................................................9 Limitations Of The Study .............................................................................13 Benefits To The Field ...................................................................................14 Conclusion of Chapter One ...........................................................................15 Chapter 2: Review of Literature ...........................................................................16 The Mecca Was Chicago ..............................................................................17 The Works Progress Administration, Et Al. .................................................17 The South Side Community Art Center ........................................................23 The Legacy of the SSCAC ............................................................................32 Dismantling the Master Narrative in Art Education History ........................33 Historiography ..............................................................................................37 Conclusion of Chapter Two ..........................................................................39 Chapter 3: Theoretical Lenses ...............................................................................41 Introduction to the Chapter ...........................................................................41 Crafting a Lens for Studying the SSCAC .....................................................42 Feminist Theory ............................................................................................44 Black Studies Theory ....................................................................................46 Black Studies And Historic Investigation ............................................47 Black Studies From the Time Period ...................................................49 viii W. E. B. Du Bois ........................................................................50 Alain Locke .................................................................................51 Black Feminist Studies Theory .....................................................................54 Black Feminism and Accessibility .......................................................55 Black Feminism and Activism .............................................................57 Black Women and Historic Investigation ............................................59 Connecting Theories .....................................................................................60 Conclusion of Chapter Three ........................................................................61 Chapter 4: Methodology ........................................................................................63 Early Stages ..................................................................................................63 First Steps .....................................................................................................65 First Trip – May 2014 ...................................................................................66 Woodson Regional Library ..................................................................67 The South Side Community Art Center ...............................................68 Second Trip – October 2014 .........................................................................71 The Library Archives ...........................................................................71 The Chicago History Museum .............................................................72 Second Trip to the South Side Community Art Center .......................74 Chapter 5: A History of the SSCAC, 1941-1959 ...................................................77 Introduction ...................................................................................................77 1941-1944 – The Removal Of Funds ...........................................................77 1945-1949 – The Post-War Era ....................................................................83 1954-1959 – The 1950s ................................................................................88 1950-1953 – Missing History .......................................................................91 Historic Imagination and the Historian ................................................92 Silence About the SSCAC, 1950-1953
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