On February 11, the city of Hoboken unveiled an art piece titled “I AM 400: The African Journey In America 1619-2019.” The piece, created by artists Jerome and Jeromyah Jones, a father-son duo, features the portraits of 69 African Americans—both household names and “unsung heroes the world needs to know.”
Jerome Jones has been an artist for the past 40 years with the goal of teaching “The Art of Life through the Love of Art to inspire the young and old to use their gifts to uplift others.” With works in the collections of individuals the likes of Stevie Wonder, Evander Holyfield, Michael Jordan, Michael Vick, LaVar Arrington, VCU Health Systems, the City of Richmond, among many other public and private collections, the patriarch in the father-son duo has been an inspirational figure to many for decades. Jeromyah Jones cites his father as his inspiration for artistry, saying that his father took him to galleries and ultimately gave him the “opportunity to meet history,” which consequently made “paintings more meaningful.” Jeromyah Jones “hopes to alter people’s view of many African-Americans and their experience” through his art. He explains, “I don’t want to just paint these historical figures in the way we usually see them.” Rather, he aims to “put a poetic perspective to their lives,” which can be seen in “I AM 400.”
Some of the historical figures included in this collection include: Dr. Dorothy I. Height, who spent her life fighting for both civil rights and women’s rights; Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr. and a human rights advocate; Christine Darden, who was one of the first women to work as a mathematician and “human computer” at NASA; iconic singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder; American tennis players Arthur Ashe and Serena Williams; the band Earth, Wind & Fire; former U.S. Secretary of State General Colin Powell; jazz musician Lonnie Liston Smith; pastor and national civil rights leader Wyatt Tee Walker; author Alex Haley; broadcasting executive Xernona Clayton, and president of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. L.D. Britt. Other paintings included are both “allegorical and historical” and exemplify “motifs that explain the journey of a people on a quest for freedom.”
Mayor Ravi Bhalla was joined by students from Hoboken Middle School and local officials at Church Square Park during an unveiling ceremony. “We must continue to educate ourselves about the African American experience to strive towards a more equal and just society,” Bhalla said. “I hope ‘I AM 400’ encourages residents and visitors to research and learn more about the inspiring African Americans who have broken barriers and made all our communities a better place.” At the conclusion of Black History Month, I AM 400 will be donated to the Hoboken Public Library.
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