BLACK INTERSTATE MIGRATION BY REGION | The infographic correlates a number of recent reporting by Brookings, The Guardian and The Washington Post that have exposed a “New Great Migration,” a reference to the historical “Great Migration” at the turn of the 20th Century. We pull data from the American Community Survey 2023 and IPUMS USA that validate these claims. From the early 1900s until the 1970s, Black people moved to northern cities from former slave states in the American South in massive numbers looking for job and education opportunities, evading Jim Crow laws and lynchings. By mapping the interstate migration flows of Black people by region one can see the larger volume flows from all regions moving to the south, including a large number of people from the south choosing to move within the region. In our artwork the data is clear the largest migration flows represented by colorful bands move from the West (pink), Midwest (yellow) and Northeast (green) move into the South (blue).

BLACK LGBTQ+ POPULATION IN CALIFORNIA | This infographic gives an overview of statistics on Black LGBTQ+ life from the California Health Interview Survey and cross referenced with the American Community Survey (U.S. Census). In November 2024 California consecrated marriage equality in its state constitution and repealed Proposition 8, a proposition that would ban same-sex marriage. While the front for LGBTQ+ rights has moved past marriage equality in recent years, the fight over Proposition 8 was an inflection point as it turned on a Supreme Court decision that declined an appeal to uphold Proposition 8, thereby giving legal precedent for same-sex marriage. While we find the Black LGBTQ+ population to be small portion of the Black community in California their stories and lives are no less important to highlight here. This also becomes reparative in that Du Bois’s original data portraits does not address these Black communities. As we reimagine his original works for the 21st Century, we recognized the significant contributions of LGBTQ+ communities in Black life today. Our portrait references the original “Pride Flag” created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker as commission by local legend, Mayor Harvey Milk. The creation of this artwork incorporates a direct impression of a flag etched into the plate allowing the weave of the fabric to be visible under the colors.

BLACK BOOKSTORES IN THE UNITED STATES | The infographic brings focus to the longstanding tradition of Black Bookstores as cornerstones of Black communities across the united states by mapping their locations. In this visualization we highlight the work of two visionary women one historic and one living. The data which maps current and some historic bookstores across the U.S. comes from Katie Mitchell’s Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores. Prose to the People is a collects historical and contemporary stories on the phenomenon of Black Bookstores and there locations. It offers beautiful moments of poetry throughout and features a forward by Nikki Giovanni. 

The look of our bookstore map stands out from all the data portraits we have made because it approximates the design aesthetic of historic cartographer Louise E. Jefferson. Jefferson was one of the first Black women cartographers working in the early half of the 20th century and a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance community of artists. 

As we encountered the visionary and sensitive works of these two women we knew immediately that pairing them within a data portrait was the only logical way to see Black bookstores in the U.S. Jefferson’s historic work has added to the development and awareness of Black history through her groundbreaking work in cartography, while Mitchell’s collection of Black bookstores underscores Jefferson’s work by offering an important chapter to Black literary histories.

PRISON LABOR WAGES BY STATE | The infographic reimagines Du Bois’s original data portrait titled, “Proportion of Freemen and Slaves Among American Negros.” In his original work Du Bois is tracking arguments in the institution of Slavery in the U.S. by showing the recorded freemen and slave populations. Starting at 1790 when the Pennsylvania Society lead by Benjamin Franklin presented a petition to the First Congress urging them to take action against slavery. The timeline ends at 1860 representing the last years of the American Civil War which ended with the abolition of slavery as the law of the land through the 13th Amendment. We pick up from here by invoking the 13th Amendment and the living legacy of slavery in the form of the American Prison-Industrial Complex. The 13th Amendment itself makes clear the carceral system would be the new front for slavery in the U.S. Our work focuses on comparing the Federal Minimum Wage (black) to prisoner wages (DOC orange) though its various work programs. This reveals quite clearly that the crux of arguments for slavery has always been about slave labor vs. free labor and is the main legislative concession to the Confederates within the amendment after their “Lost Cause.” Currently, California Assembly women Lori Wilson intends to introduce a new anti-slavery amendment, for the state’s 2026 ballot which would challenge prison labor practices.  

The 13th Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

AFRICAN AMERICAN BURIAL GROUND PROJECT & TROPICANA FIELD | This is a visual translation of a living project being done by the University of South Florida’s Heritage Lab led by Antoinette T. Jackson, Phd. We expose the geologic layers of history under Tropicana Field according to the Heritage Lab’s research. Each layer shows the emergence and disappearance of Black communities and their cemeteries which were paved over by consecutive rounds of development. Recent scans reveal remains still interned contrary to official accounts of removal as new luxury housing developments and rebranding of the area’s story takes place. This research by the USF Heritage Lab is ongoing and is revealing more sites in the region where historically Black communities, their stories and ancestors have been erased from official histories even while living in the memories of descendants. Dr. Jackson is also founder and director of the Black Cemeteries Network bringing together professional historians, archeologists and local activists who are recovering lost Black cemeteries across the United States.