Three Negro Poems

A reflection of how Black creative expression was reduced, repackaged, and preserved. Before they were ever printed as illustrations, Negro poems lived in many forms across Black communities — spoken, sung, shared, and adapted. They were never limited to three figures or three stories; they belonged to a much wider tradition of Black expression, memory, and commentary.

When publishers began mass‑producing these works in the early 20th century, the tradition was narrowed into a fixed triptych — simplified, standardized, and shaped more by commercial printing than by the communities that created the originals.

This design revisits that history. The color blocking and composition reveal how the imagery was flattened into product form, yet still carried traces of its original intention. The figures, their posture, and their arrangement highlight the tension between what was preserved and what was lost.

This piece honors the fuller story behind Three Negro Poems — not just the version that survived in print, but the broader tradition it came from.