Artist Faith Ringgold, who passed away on Saturday at 93, was known for her work in a variety of artforms and for her sometimes jarring political pieces. One of her boldest works depicts the stars of the American flag reading the word “DIE” and the stripes reading the n-word. Titled “Flag For The Moon,” the piece briefly got the artist arrested for flag desecration when she displayed it in 1970.

“She felt the American government – what they were communicating to Black people – [was] that they could put a flag on the moon but disregard Black lives back in the United States,” said Jamillah James, who curated a recently-closed exhibit of Ringgold’s artwork at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

In honor of Ringgold’s life and work, listen as host Erin Allen talks with James about the political nature of Ringgold’s art and how it serves as a bridge to the work of young Black artists today.

This episode was originally published on Nov. 29, 2023.