 My name is Siamara Kelly, and I'm a digital artisan's intern here Her hands execute a mind that practices freedom Painter writer speaker mix media sculptor and performance artist Faith Ringald was born in Harlem, New York on October 8th 1930 She is and continues to be a revolutionarily vibrant force in American art bringing light to themes such as black womanhood and freedom in relation to the socio-political mood of America As a child she was taught to so fabricatedly by her mother and a professional fashion designer and to make quilts by her great-grandmother It was their professional It was their professional fact. It was her influence that has become the heart of her artistry One of the most fondest memories of my childhood was smoothing over each page of her children's book Tar Beach. I Relished each new discovery I made of a beautiful black girl flying across Harlem making me feel like I could fly in a colorful reality She creates we thank you for flying in with us Faith Ringald Good evening. Welcome Thank you So pleasure to be here It's a pleasure to have you here, and it's a pleasure to begin our conversation Maybe with the the earliest painting my American people series And a self-portrait Yeah, that's true. Yeah And in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum Exactly gift of Elizabeth Sackler. Thank you Can you tell us a little bit about this the American people series? the American people series I Began in 1963 I think yeah, and continued on to 1967 when I did die Which is now in the collection of the museum of modern art after all these years Fifty years Okay, and it looks beautiful in that installation where we've all seen it. Yeah, it's uh Very interesting. I I tried to give it away a couple times. You didn't try to give it to us You didn't ask You didn't ask but Yeah, if you'd asked, you know, I think about it all the time Because if you'd asked I probably would have although I think it's a mistake though for artists to do that To give away their work. I yeah, I think it but You just take your time and wait your time Whatever it is because in the final analysis Shouldn't have to do that. Yeah But yeah, it was very it's been hard but it's better much better now Thank you everybody speaking of not being able to give things away This all power to the people the Black Panther poster. Oh, yeah That is an interesting story. Well, yeah, I tried. Oh now I made that for the Panthers I made that for them and They had and I went down to they had an office in New York and I went down to deliver 11 East 13th Street, okay, right, but they had been They had been water bombed Where they called it fire bombed the night before and When I got down there They was standing in a foot of water the guy who was let me in and I said I you know, I made this poster for you and I you know would like to give it to you and he said No, I said no What do you mean? He said no, I you know, I don't like it. I mean, I mean, it's not that I don't like it. It's just you know So I said Well, this was very common, sorry because my work was very political and political Organizations did not like it They had their own ideas on what art should be Which meant nothing to me because they're not artists Yeah, he said no, so I said well, okay, why don't I What would you like to see and he said to me? I said, you don't like the words. What is it? What would you like to see on on your poster? I worked with and he said kill whitey You know that So he wants to tell me what to say in my work and I think that What freedom of speech is vital Very important. I don't I can't conceive of anything more important to an artist than freedom of speech So, you know, that would be their post and not mine And they had a wonderful artist at that time. What was his name? Right Okay, so I said I'll do another one for you but you know be with my words and I came back with another one I did so I did too And that one had a whole family mother a father and a little kid and they The mother and the father they all had rifles So it was something like kill somebody but it wasn't you know and the little boy Had a stick so it was kind of crazy in a way but it wasn't I Was kind of they didn't like that one either though by the way They didn't like it So I have two of my whole poster series There's two of them that were never made into posters those two Because I made them for the Panthers and they didn't want them and so I said, okay, that's it. I got it You don't want anything I have so I'm out of here and that was the end of that story Yeah, that's the end of that story We also have up on the screen two other works two other poster works graphic works that you produced in the exhibition these two in relationship to Your experience as one of the members of the Judson three Well the Judson three is we gave a flag show People's flag show the people's flag show at Judson Church and everybody was in it. Oh fantastic However at the very end of the show some people arrived who looked suspicious and I Was downstairs waiting for Michelle my daughter to come and For us to go home. We had we had done the show It was closed and nothing had happened and there had been all kinds of threats Did you guys burn a flag No, no, I I didn't burn anything somebody might have burned something Yeah, I think John John Hendricks and John Tosh. Yeah, maybe they did. Yeah, but not me. No, but Anyway We had been told that all kinds of things were going to happen and we had great support from the art community Everybody was supporting us And this flag show Because we all believe in freedom of speech The flag belongs to the people Michelle my daughter Who was what 19 at the time? Where are you? how much 18 who was 18 at the time I I told her I said look I wanted to a poster for the flag show and I want to put some words where the stripes are and I said so you you write the words Tell me what they are and she said, okay She was 18 at the time So here's what she wrote the American people The people's flag show November 9th 1970 Judson Memorial Church New York City, okay Then the words are American people are the only people who can Interpret the American flag a flag which does not belong to the people to do with as they see fit should be burned and Forgotten artists Workers students women women Throw Who are oppressed what does being? What does the flag mean to you join the people's Answer to the repressive US government In state laws restricting our use and display of the flag it takes a village to read a text And I said oh my goodness, what am I doing to my child I Don't know about this And then I said So I said no But I can't allow her To be more progressive than me No, I can't that's not good. I Mean leave her don't you well I do So does she and let's go and So we did it and that's what had the people in Washington, DC. I think Nixon was in the White House at the time Disturbed about our flag show at the Judson Church and he sent over What three plainclothes people Pops that were you know wearing uniform to Arrest us at the close of the show So I didn't know anything about it. Although we've had several lawyers. So we were well covered however They they came These three people arrived at the closing of the show and they look strange But anyway, I sent them upstairs. I was downstairs John and Jean Hendricks Michelle was upstairs Michelle went running up when you know, she saw there were more people. She was all excited and Now I let her go However, somebody came down the stairs and said fate Michelle just got arrested That said what or what? Putting that show together the the last people that came in arrested her That was those people those plainclothes people. I looked a little strange So I said, okay, she said you better go with I never thought I never understood this She was suggesting to me that I leave so that I didn't get arrested. I said my daughter's upstairs. Are you kidding? Going anywhere without her No So I went up upstairs and they're in the gallery Michelle John Hendricks and these three Undercover characters and Everybody's just standing around looking strange And I said to Michelle I was gonna play the game Michelle. Come on. Let's go Michelle said I can't and I said why she said Arrested and I said arrested for what? And she said for Putting the show together. I said you didn't do anything. I did So they said well, you're arrested Now that's illegal Because they did not tell me that they were capable of arresting anybody on the basis of answering a question Please always have to say You may be Something may happen to you in regard to how you And I'm gonna ask you because I'm an officer of the law blah blah All right, so I knew right there that all of us had gotten arrested illegally, but They wanted to take us to jail so we went and They let Michelle go because I said I did it not her She's just a child So Michelle is so I gave her my rings and you know all my stuff Because I was gonna I was going to jail. I thought but when we got to the tombs Angela Davis Was in the prison Down there, what was the name of it center stroke Center Street? What? The tombs, I think Angela Davis was in the tombs at the time Okay, so now We're gonna go to the tombs and I found out later from John And that our lawyers were waiting for us There in the courtroom for you to be arraigned, right? So all we had to do was just get in there. All right, so we got in the cars that immediately they separated us the two men and me Being a woman I was in one car with the woman police and they were in The two of them were in the car with the men. I Thought that was the most interesting and frightening part of the whole thing that they separate the men from the women immediately However, we got down there and the guard on the door Who takes you into the jail because we were really under arrest, but we had to go for it The guard said I can't let you in because It's too late So I said, well, what do you mean can't let us in so John said well, we have to get in because we we have lawyers our lawyers are waiting for us in the courtroom and If we don't we have to spend the night in jail if you don't get a range you have to wait until the next morning so The guy at the door said look I'll tell you what the only thing I can do here is I will turn my back And you can sneak in and I said do what? We're gonna sneak in the tombs. I've never heard of that. No about sneaking in the tombs That doesn't make any sense to me To sneak in the tombs. Does it make a sense here? No. No, I think that's a good idea So John and oh, they were so disgusted with me. Yeah, I said, oh, come on I said well They said other than that we're gonna have to Spend the night in jail Because we won't be able to get to the court hearing because we're too late So Let's sneak in So we sneaked in the tombs. Can you beat that? Yes, we did that's crazy and Immediately, of course, they kept us separated the two men got to They got in a cage. They put it. They put us in cages No, they didn't put me in a cage, but they put the two of them in a cage With a whole lot of people who were doing all kinds of crazy things, but men and They roll them off so now they're gone and me they walked me through the tombs with a You know women guard women guards and Everybody was asking who she would she want? Why is she here? You know, I didn't look like the other people was a lot of young people were getting arrested young people and I don't know it was I was getting all kinds of comments and So finally we got there Went to court and we were arranged that free Dance out of there Based on the lawyers that we had we had a Civil liberties, you know, we had oh we had a lot of protection And we had raised a lot of money from art institutions all over all over the country supported us Because I think artists and museums and Collectors people artists of all kind understand without Freedom of speech. There is no art None so Everyone came to our support and we had we raised thousands and thousands of dollars and That money was turned over To the ACLU and other lawyers to support a lot of young people all over the country Who were arrested for putting flags on their jeans or it's doing some dumb thing and We got them all Covered with our with our money that we had raised so that's good and Not that that prison is a theme in your life, but we could talk about for the woman's house For the last few minutes that we have I would love to hear. Oh for the woman's house. Oh beautiful I can't thank you enough for having that piece in this show In this museum, we can't thank you enough Well, the way to thank me enough the way to thank me enough is To have that piece in the collection here that that piece was given to them in 1971 I Went to I Had this money that I had one from where you got a capscrant, right? I got a capscrant for x amount of money. I don't remember how much Probably not much by these day standards, right? No, not by these days stand to put by those days But it was a public commission. This is what I love about this story No, what gave you that money for is To do a public service do something you could teach somebody you could do whatever whatever and I was looking for something to do. I wanted to be in public collections So I tried to do something for the City College of New York as I graduated from there But they said no, I don't think so Kind of like the Panthers Okay, so I said look I'm gonna go someplace where I know I'm not gonna be turned down So I called up the warden at the women's house of detention and they said yes Come on. I said well, I'd love to do a piece that what that Does something for women inmates That features them. I want to know what what kind of art would they like to have in the prison so they said well wonderful come here and I came To the women's house of detention. I met all these young young young women who had been arrested for oh my goodness Oh, it was so very very upsetting and I said to them look I'd like to do some art for you to be publicly displayed here at the Women's house of detention and I would like to know what would you like to see? What would what would inspire you I? Want to make a picture for you So one woman say Said well, I'd like to see a long road leading out of here I said no no come on give me more than that so they went in to tell me that They wanted to be free. They wanted to be out of there, of course and I discussed with them though all the so many things that women were not permitted to do and it was obvious to me That the reason why many of them were there was because they had a lack of freedom they had been arrested for doing all kinds of things for their boyfriends and You know stuff like that and So after going there many times and talking many times to the young women I put together this piece and I put together this piece Getting them to see Different aspects of American life that they were not privileged They could not Drive a bus no public transportation. Can you imagine? They of course could not Run for president of the United States no They could not in many cases teach They could not Be a minister of a church you see the Woman standing there getting married and The minister is a woman they could not play professional basketball or Oh They could not be a drum no drums no drums in bands, huh What else? They could not let me see. Well, there's an integrated couple here. There's a white mother and a little black child and they're reading She's reading a book. So there was a lack of Educational opportunities here. Oh No, police women none. Can you imagine? we have Lots today, am I right? yeah and there's the basketball and the president and The bus driver and a classroom teacher and the minister See, that's the minister's hand there on the Bible and There's the woman the man is not on here There were no men in this picture by the way and that was very unusual To paint a picture with no men in it, huh? And that's why we love that this opens the exhibition upstairs. All right. Yes Faith Ringgold, thank you very much. Oh wait a minute Now the reason the reason why I would like it here so much I did it for the women at the Women's house of detention When they moved the women to the Singer Center and the men came in to the Reckers had came into Rackers Island The men decided they were tired of looking at these bitches Because it's all women in the painting Okay, so it's eight by eight feet. Well, you know that look at now and It said Why don't we do the following paint over it with White House paint? Huh, and then we'll get one of the inmates To paint another picture on it as a matter of fact, that's the way masterpieces are stolen it's it was done in oil and And varnished and so if you put White House paint on top you can take that house paint off and you got your painting there All right, so that's how they plan and then they took it down off the wall took it Into the cafeteria and and this inmate was supposed to go in there and paint, you know But when he saw the size of it, you know eight by eight feet is bigger than he was He got he couldn't do it So one of the guards who I had met going over there all the time Call me up and said listen faith. You better get here quick because they have painted over your painting and It is now in the basement they had planned to Get one of the inmates to paint a picture on top, but he's I don't know he can't do it And now they have to get rid of the evidence So you better get here so I called up and made an appointment to come right away and I did and They said They were going to Well, when I got there they acted like they didn't know what I was talking about However, I called the superintendent of correction Now I don't remember his name, but he was fabulous he said look I Will take care of all of this I will Raise the money and I will have this painting restored and You I'll be back in touch with you about it and he brought me down to the prison and Just so that I would check to see that it was indeed my painting, huh? Okay, and then I Went several other times when they when he he raised $25,000 to restore this painting Now that's what it cost in 1971 what would it cost today? So we can't afford to ever have that happen again, and I don't know I We cannot no no, so we need that painting in a safe place I'm glad you agree and that safe place is The Brooklyn Museum