Despite The Racism He Faced, Basquiat Stayed Committed To His Art
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 31 January 2023
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
They claimed they wanted to support his work, but then they showed up at his studio with the most racist “gift” he’d ever seen! Little did they know, his sweet revenge would come sooner rather than later.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | They claimed they wanted to support his work, but then they showed up at his studio with |
| 0:08.3 | the most racist gift he'd ever seen. |
| 0:12.2 | Little did they know, his sweet revenge would come sooner rather than later. |
| 0:18.2 | This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school. |
| 0:29.5 | John Michel Basquiat was on the come-up as a young black artist in New York City. |
| 0:34.7 | So when some prospective buyers wanted to come to his studio to purchase the piece, he |
| 0:39.8 | was excited. |
| 0:41.0 | But things quickly took a turn for the worse when they did the dumbest, most racist thing |
| 0:46.5 | ever. |
| 0:55.2 | They gifted him a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken. |
| 1:00.7 | Basquiat was baffled by their white audacity. |
| 1:04.6 | He turned them away, refused to sell them his art, and when they left, he reached over |
| 1:09.7 | the railing and dumped a bucket of waste on their heads. |
| 1:14.7 | The racism continued, but he got his revenge soon enough. |
| 1:19.8 | Taxi's often wouldn't stop for him, so he's stunted by taking a limousine everywhere. |
| 1:26.2 | But Basquiat never let white foolishness prevent him from creating or any racist limitations |
| 1:32.5 | box him in. |
| 1:34.5 | Basquiat stayed true to himself, and those races are probably kicking themselves. |
| 1:40.1 | In 2017, a painting of his sold for over $10 million, and in 2022, a family curated |
| 1:48.7 | Basquiat exhibition in New York City quickly sold out tickets. |
| 1:54.3 | Basquiat refused to let white supremacy stop him, and never shyed away from using his |
| 1:59.7 | art to highlight black experiences. |
... |
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