Daily Announcement January 31, 2023
Tuesday January 31, 2023 In celebration of Black History Month, POCU will be sharing bios of notable African Americans. Today we recognize the artist, Edmonia Lewis: Edmonia Lewis was the first professional Native and African American sculptor to receive international recognition. She was born around 1844 to her mother’s Ojibwe heritage and her father’s Haitian heritage in upstate New York but was orphaned at an early age. Lewis was raised by relatives, and with the support of her older brother, attended Oberlin College in Ohio. There, she was falsely accused of poisoning two white classmates, captured and beaten by a white mob, recovered, and escaped to Boston, MA, after the charges against her were dropped. In Boston, Lewis became friends with Edward Brackett, a fellow sculptor who continued to teach her sculpture and art and set up her own studio. She received some fame from her busts of famous abolitionist leaders, but her big ticket item was a bust of Civil War hero Co...