New York exhibition celebrates the world of Black comic books

New York exhibition celebrates the world of Black comic books. 

NEW YORK: A museum in New York is launching a new exhibition to celebrate Black comics and a decade of its Black Comic Book Festivals.

“Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures” features photos, memorabilia, and comic books written and illustrated by Black authors and illustrators. 

It is organized by Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem (a New York Public Library research library).

MORE: Biden will urge mayors to use more COVID aid for building workforces.

According to the New York Public Library, The Black Comic Book Festival provided an opportunity for more than 40 independent publishers to direct their work to readers of color between 2012 and 2020.

Even though the COVID pandemic caused this year’s event online, there is still a sense of community at the festival, according to TJ Sterling, comic book creator and panel moderator.

He told Reuters that he believes comic conventions, as a whole, lack diversity. “I believe even the comic book industry doesn’t give us a diversity of look in terms of types of stories and characters. So it seemed like this was where I could truly speak to people who like my work.”

Sterling’s graphic novels feature diverse stories about characters who are underrepresented.

David Crowson, creator of “Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer” and “Nightmare in Newark,” described the exhibit space as a safe place where history can still be celebrated and preserved.

“It is important for the next generation just to see where they are and to empower and energize them to move forward.”