Immerse yourself in Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice and honor the significant contributions of Black writers to American literature and history. Explore and better understand racial injustice in America by examining the work of Black American writers from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring original artwork, lesson plans, and other interactive elements that enliven and enrich the experience, Dark Testament brings the work of writers past and present to life in new and exciting ways.
dARK TESTAMENT: a CENTURY OF bLACK wRITERS ON jUSTICE
Originally on display at the American Writers Museum and recently on display at Vanderbilt University, this exhibit is highly adaptable to various sized galleries and spaces. Below is an example of how Vanderbilt University used the content across their campus.
Learn more by watching the video below and exploring the online exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice.
Dark Testament artwork was on display at these four locations on the Vanderbilt University campus during the Spring 2025 semester: Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center, Divinity School, Central Library, and Vanderbilt University Museum of Art.
To learn more about Dark Testament at Vanderbilt and to see a list of programs they hosted related to the exhibition, visit their webpage at the link below.
DARK TESTAMENT EVENTSWhat is Dark Testament?
Featured Writers Include:
Frederick Douglass
Ida B. Wells
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Ma Rainey
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Nella Larsen
Langston Hughes
W.E.B. Du Bois
Richard Wright
Pauli Murray
Zora Neale Hurston
Ethel Payne
James Baldwin
Ralph Ellison
Malcolm X
Maya Angelou
James Weldon Johnson
Harriet Ann Jacobs
Nikki Giovanni
and more!
“Now I was empowered to minister the sacrament of One in whom there is no north or south, no black or white, no male or female – only the spirit of love and reconciliation drawing us all toward the goal of human wholeness.”
—Pauli Murray
“I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.”
—Malcolm X
“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise.”—Maya Angelou
Past Programs
Revisit past programs related to Dark Testament on the AWM’s YouTube channel.
“We hope that our efforts will contribute to the broader national project of increasing diversity, equity, access, and inclusion as we narrate a story of America that recognizes the extraordinary contributions of Black writers in literature and culture in our increasingly multi-racial society. Reading these writers will give us new narratives, new accounts, and new ways of thinking about a shared future that even the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the power of the Civil Rights Movement have yet to achieve. We can draw strength from their commitment to faith, inspiration from their spiritual insights, and wisdom from their wrestling with deferred hope as they tried to reimagine the world.” —Dr. Keidrick Roy, lead curator
Curating Team:
Dr. Keidrick Roy, Lead Curator – Harvard University
Ivy Wilson, PhD – Northwestern University
Megan Finch, PhD – University of Minnesota
Michael Sawyer – University of Pittsburgh
Col. Candice Pipes – United States Air Force
Natalie Y. Moore – Journalist
Nate Marshall – Poet
Glory Edim – Writer & Editor
Myiti Sengstacke-Rice – Educator, Publisher, & Community Activist
Made possible with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Efroymson Family Fund.
