Lady in Chains

Dr. Charles Smith began creating art around 1986 to honor African-Americans killed in the Vietnam War. Smith himself had served as a marine in Vietnam and his artmaking eased the post-traumatic stress he experienced. Although Smith was born in, and today resides near, New Orleans, he grew up in the Chicago area and established “The African-American Heritage Museum and Black Veteran’s Archive” memorial in Aurora, Illinois. There, he presented a history centered around the enslavement of African people and informed by the racism he, his family, and his community have experienced. This legacy can be seen in the metal chains that shackle this figure—a common feature in many of his painted figures sculpted from concrete and mixed media.