—Learn more about the NMAAHC Memory Book
By: nwilkins
Threads: Home Page
2007, Indianapolis, IN, United States
http://emancipation2000.com Featuring the largest and most Unique collection of rare and hard to find black historical art prints. Overe 300 available sizes 11*17 and 24*36
Since the early 70’s Julian Madyun has devoted himself to educating people about the wonderful contributions of African-American people. Young and old alike, all over the country, they have benefited from the murals that Mr. Madyun has created. His art print called Emancipation can be found everywhere, from school districts spanning from Los Angeles, Waco Texas to New York, where it has become part of numerous television shows, including The Cosby Show, Tavis Smiley Show; colleges; art galleries; offices and most importantly in living rooms all over the country where it is sparking conversations about African-American history. So what led Mr. Madyun to not only recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of African-American pioneers but to also to want to spread the word and instill African Americans with a sense of pride and self-worth? To understand how he came to find this path one would have to know a little bit about his family. The youngest of eight, growing up in a progressive community in Minneapolis, Mr. Madyun was always taught from a young age to be his own man. His parents taught, he and his siblings, not to judge people by the color of their skin but instead by their accomplishments. Both of his parents always made sure that he knew his history. My Father would always Quote, Booker T. Washington
Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
To
this day he credits those early history lessons with giving him
self-confidence and making him proud to be an African-American. Later
on he would add
Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin L. King
and Muhammad Ali as his inspirations as well. The mural came about, as
all great ideas do, by chance. During the 1971 Watts Arts Festival in
Los Angeles Mr. Madyun was selling African-American encyclopedias, he
built a display using the images from the book to set his booth apart
from the other vendors. By the end of the day he had received more
inquiries and compliments on the mural than on the encyclopedia! Even
more surprising was the fact that most people had no idea who the
figures were. They didnt even know they’re own history. So he decided
to create something that was not only artistically appealing, but
something that would be informative and serve as a conversation piece
that would spark and even greater interest in black history. The art
print and the companion book became such a success that he soon had a
crew of 30 salesmen going around the country, door-to-door, selling his
work from the projects of Oakland, California to the suburbs of
Atlanta, Georgia, to Chicago New York, Washington D.C., and Dallas In
the 70’s he sold over 50,000 copies of the print alone.