Creative Minds: Influential black and minority ethnic artists

The Arts Editorial Team look at some prominent non-white creative artists from the last century.

Malorie Blackman

A British, award winning writer who was the Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2013-15, Malorie Blackman tackled racial issues through her incredibly successful series Noughts and Crosses. These insightful novels discuss equality and racism, focussing on a fictional dystopia where blacks are oppressing whites, including a violent terrorist activity performed by the Noughts throughout the series. By reversing the racial stereotypes, Blackman cleverly emphasizes the risk and also reality of racism that is possible in everyday life. The impact of the first book remains as provoking and shocking as it was 15 years ago to the thousands of readers still discovering her genius. Blackman has used the power of the word to challenge racial stereotypes in an exciting and intriguing way which highlights these issues to the younger generation.

Lea Salonga

The musical theatre actress, Lea Salonga, got her breakthrough when she played Kim in Miss Saigon at the age of 18, in firstly the West End and then Broadway. An incredibly impressive achievement for such a young star! Since being brought into the public sphere, she has been chosen to play Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables, staring respectively in the 10th and 25th anniversary performances. This was a huge honor as she was the first actress of Asian decent to portray these iconic characters. Through signing with the international records label, Atlantic Records she has further battled with racial barriers. Challenging these racial traditions, Salonga has inspired and triumphed within her field, encouraging others to cast and audition in the creative industry regardless of originality.

Jacob Lawrence

Untitled, 12/11/03, 2:53 PM, 16C, 3450×4776 (600+0), 100%, AIA repro tone, 1/50 s, R58.9, G46.8, B59.3

The African American painter, Jacob Lawrence used his work to focus on the history and struggles of African Americans by portraying important periods of the African American past. At the impressive age of 21, Lawrence began his reputable journey by creating his series of paintings of the Haitian general Toussaint L’Ouverture, revolutionary leading the slaves to independence that are exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Two years later, he repeated his first success by competing his 60-panel set of narrative paintings called the Migration series. They display the Great Migration when numerous African Americans moved from the rural South to the North after WW1 and depicts them adjusting to new life. His depictions of African American struggles emphasize their history and the importance of this within in society that translates into modern culture successfully.

Michael Jackson

Despite being forced onto the stage at an incredibly young age, Michael Jackson (and his brothers) were one of the first black music acts to enter mainstream airplay in the early 1970s. Their enormous success in the 70s was ultimately incomparable to Jackson’s solo success, best showcased through 1982’s Thriller. Not only is it still the highest-selling album of all time 34 years later, but it played a huge role in breaking down racial barriers in the music industry, particularly through Jackson’s MTV coverage (a rarity for contemporary black artists) and his invitation to the White House from Reagan.

Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey had an incredibly difficult start to life, growing up in abject poverty with her grandmother and mother, and suffering years of abuse. Aged 13, she ran away from home, before living with her father and working on a local black radio station while at college. Her first TV show, AM Chicago, saw an incredible increase in viewership when she began presenting. The show was renamed, becoming The Oprah Winfrey Show. As a black woman, Oprah was in a tiny minority of talk shows almost solely presented by white men, but she rose to the top, become the worldda’s most renowned talk show host. Additionally, her positive attitude towards the LGBT community contributed to the move towards a mainstream acceptance of homosexuality in American culture. Oprah has always been a breaker of barriers, and her incredible popularity since the 1980s has had an irrevocable impact on American culture.

Idris Elba

A more contemporary figure with less of a legacy, Idris Elba is a modern day champion of breaking down racial barriers in the creative industry. Finding success in acting, producing, rapping and DJ’ing, Elba has used his artistic success to highlight today’s lack of diversity in the creative arts. Just last month he gave an important speech about black actors still finding themselves typecast as drug addicts and thieves. Yet, his enormous success in America and his dedicated global following hasn’t made him forget his working-class roots, and he is one of the most important barrier breakers in today’s creative industry.

Amandla Stenberg

Despite being only 17 this young woman has achieved so much in the battle around cultural appropriation. She began catalogue modelling for Disney aged 4 and has since been in several feature films, getting her big break in The Hunger Games as Rue. Her social activism was brought into the public eye when she posted the video “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows’ onto her Tumblr page in 2014. Since then she has been named “one of the most incredible voices of her generation” by Dazed magazine, coordinated #blackmagicgirl and this moth covered teen Vogue. This young African American/ Danish creative may not have won any awards yet but she is absolutely one to watch. Stenberg is all over social media and in the press telling people why cultural appropriation is not acceptable. She is both the voice and the inspiration of a new generation.

Whoopi Goldberg

This Jewish, African-American actress, comedian and television host began her working life as a phone sex operator before training as an actor at HB Studio, New York. She was inspired by watching Nyota Uhura on Star Trek as a child, reportedly saying “Momma! There’s a black lady on TV and she ain’t no maid!’ Goldberg went on to perform in countless films, finding a perfect balance in her performance between comedy and drama. This world-famous creative talent has become a household name for entertainment as someone who never gave up and never let her economic or social situation restrain her. She has won awards including a Grammy, Emmys, a BAFTA and an Oscar and is now the co-host of popular TV show ‘The View’. Goldberg has also been an activist alongside Cyndi Lauper for ‘Give a Damn’ campaign bringing wider awareness to LGBT communities. Is there anything this woman hasn’t done?

Stevie Wonder

Hitting the charts as a child in 1962, Wonder is still touring today at age 65. I remember seeing him at the Glastonbury Pyramid stage in 2010 and being absolutely blown away. His musical talent and multi-instrumental skills are unrivalled. He is the perfect illustration of talent taking precedence, whether that be over disability, ethnicity, gender or anything else. He has been commended not only for his Music, having won 25 Grammy’s as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, but also for his extensive civil rights work. He has used his music to support social causes including helping to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, raising money for humanitarian aid in Africa and also collaborating with Elton John to support AIDS charities. Stevie Wonder has achieved a huge amount personally an in terms of international awareness for so many causes, he is an angel among the masses.