Preserving
Black Heritage
Historical Resources
Explore our curated collection of historically significant Black collectibles, featuring carefully researched and reviewed educational content.
Kerry James Marshall, "Past Times" (1997)
"Past Times" by Kerry James Marshall is a monumental acrylic and collage painting portraying a Black family enjoying leisure by a lake, boating, golfing, and picnicking in a sprawling urban park. Completed in 1997, the work upends the Western art tradition by representing Black subjects in idyllic, upper-class settings commonly found in canonical paintings like Seurat’s "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." Mixing references from Renaissance painting to Black folk art, Marshall combines a deep knowledge of art history with contemporary Black experience, using vibrant color, complex composition, and subtle symbolism to challenge stereotypes and expand the possibilities for Black representation.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, "Untitled" (1982)
"Untitled" (1982) by Jean-Michel Basquiat is a monumental neo-expressionist painting featuring a raw, mask-like skull rendered in vivid colors against an electric blue field. Created at the age of 21, this iconic work captures Basquiat’s fusion of street art, African heritage, and contemporary social commentary. Its energetic brushwork and layered symbolism reflect Basquiat's interest in urban experience, personal identity, and themes of life and mortality. Deeply autobiographical, the skull may function as a self-portrait, channeling Basquiat’s struggles with race, fame, and vulnerability.
Malcolm X Typed Letter Signed ("Malcolm X"), February 2, 1965
This rare original typed letter signed by Malcolm X ("Malcolm X"), dated February 2, 1965, on his personal New York letterhead (10 ⅜" x 7 ¼"), is addressed to Miss Ellenie R. Ash of Amsden, Ohio. Written in crisp type with Malcolm X’s bold red script signature and “Malcolm X” notation at the head, the letter responds thoughtfully to a correspondent, addressing themes of honesty, race, slavery’s lasting scars, and his evolving views on religion and Black self-determination. The single-page document shows typical mailing folds and light aging, with clear, legible text and a strong signature.
Featured Grails
Black Grail Score in Action
Black Grail Score
out of 100
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl — Rare Presentation Copy
This first-edition copy of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Boston, 1861) is an exceptional presentation copy given by Harriet Jacobs’s daughter, Louisa Jacobs, to Sarah R. May, wife of abolitionist Rev. Samuel May Jr., in 1886. Bound in the publisher’s original light brown beaded cloth with gilt spine, this near-fine copy remains unrestored and is accompanied by extraordinary provenance: two period obituaries for Harriet Jacobs mounted within the book, and a fourteen-page holograph letter describing Jacobs’s 1897 funeral service, including a handwritten copy of the eulogy delivered by Rev. Francis James Grimké, a leading African American minister of the era. The letter, written by Sarah Earle to Samuel May, is the only known surviving eyewitness account of Jacobs’s funeral. The Mays were close friends and supporters of the Jacobs School, a Freedmen’s school founded in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1863 by Harriet and Louisa Jacobs to educate formerly enslaved Black children—a project that embodied Harriet’s belief that Black educators were essential for community empowerment.
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