African American Dreams: Visual and Verbal



African American Dreams


VMFA website
aadreams_JnlCarD.JPGVMFA website

VMFA website




Visit Virginia Museum of Fine Art's African American Dreams Art in Depth page to find eight American artworks from the Colonial period through Interwar period.   Each artwork is shown alongside contextual information and is paired with a text from the same historical period as the artwork.  


Ideas for classroom use:

Students may use in conjunction with the Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool 

The resource may also be useful as a conversation starter or tool for personal reflection. 

Question Stems:

1. What do you see?

2. What does this image remind you of?

3. How might this image relate to what you are learning?

Challenge older students to find other examples of art in VMFA's extensive collection of African American Art to explore the African American experience throughout history.  Can they find primary source texts that could effectively be paired with these works? 

Question Stems:

1. How are your resources similar and different?

2. What do you find most interesting about each resource?

3. How might these resources relate to what you are learning?



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