The title of this volume comes from a poem by Nikki Giovanni dedicated to Winfred Rembert that appears as a preface to the narrative vignettes and works of art created by Rembert that follow. Winfred Rembert is an African American whose journey to becoming an artist—and journey through life—is one of tragedy and triumph. Above all, it’s a journey that shows how resilient the human spirit can be. Raised by a great-aunt who was a fieldworker in the South, Rembert grew up embraced in love but living in a society where he saw hatred against Black people everywhere. Arrested after stealing a car to escapte the brutal white crowd at a demonstration in the 1950s, he was beaten by the police, and later paraded around town as an example to other Blacks. Transferred from one penitentiary to another, Rembert eventually ended up at Bainbridge, where he met a prisoner named TJ, a trustee, who got permission to show Winfred how to tool leather. It wasn’t until the mid–1990s that Rembert began creating detailed paintings on leather—scenes that he would tool and then dye. He recreated the scenes from his childhood—from the backbreaking fieldwork, to the vibrant Black community where he lived and played, to the more threatening white world. He also recreated life on the chain gang and other scenes from prison. His works are a testament to the best and the worst of Black experience in this country in the mid twentieth century, and they are now sought after by galleries and private collectors alike. Winfred recalls his experiences without bitterness in the narrative that accompanies these extraordinary autobiographical works of art. (Age 11 and older)

Winfred Rembert grew up in the 1950s in rural Georgia as the child of sharecroppers whose lives were little better than slavery. As a young man, he was nearly lynched, and served seven years in jail and on a chain gang. Yet he constantly found ways to create, to invent, to uplift. As a child, he made toys from pieces of junk at the town dump. In prison, he watched a leather worker and learned to carve and paint the leather himself. Now, in his own voice and through his powerful paintings, he shares with a new generation of young people his story and his passionate commitment to self-improvement.
Reminiscent of the work of Jacob Lawrence and Horace Pippin, the paintings? rich, deep colors and poignant details powerfully narrate a story of personal courage and exceptional talent. At the same time, Rembert shows how the civil rights movement was not just a matter of famous speechs and marches, but was a product of the bonds of the black community and the unbreakable spirit of individuals