Women Get Weary, But They Don’t Give Up (1991)

Alice Patrick, South Los Angeles, Acrylic, 9’ x 16’

Seated on benches in the front are educator Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune, who founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in 1935, and current NCNW president Dr. Dorothy Height, plus several anonymous older Black women—all of their faces expressing pride and strength. Standing behind them, and benefitting from these women’s courage and perseverance, are entertainer Josephine Baker, TV personality Oprah Winfrey, jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan, and Olympic runner Florence Griffith-Joyner. Through 31 nationally affiliated organizations and over 200 local chapters, NCNW undertakes a wide variety of community-based projects aimed toward advancing the economic, social, educational, and cultural welfare of Black women and others in the United States and abroad. Artist Alice Patrick was assisted by Daryl Wells, D. McClelland, & Domminic McIntyre in the creation of this mural. The Los Angeles-based Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) sponsored and commissioned the mural.

Photo: ©Robin Dunitz