Artists of the African Diaspora have made monumental contributions to the world of art, producing an influential body of work informed by the black experience.  This book of thirty postcards celebrates the work of artists from Ethiopia, Dahomey (Benin), and Haiti, their names now sadly lost, as well as some Americans who are known worldwide – Hale Woodruff, Augusta Savage, Charles Alston, Archibald Motley Jr. – and others who aren’t but should be. The works reproduced here are all from the collections of the Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

In recognition of African Americans' service during the Civil War, in 1866 Congress authorized six black infantry regiments (subsequently consolidated into the Twenty-fourth and the Twenty-fifth U.S. Infantry) and two cavalry units (the Ninth and the Tenth U.S. Army Cavalry). Black soldiers served admirably in Texas, the Southwest, and the Great Plains, maintaining order on the frontier and distinguishing themselves during the Indian Wars (thirteen enlisted men earned the Medal of Honor). During the harsh winters, the soldiers wore coats made of buffalo hides. Because of the coats' appearance and the men's own tightly curled hair, the Native Americans called them