Maya Lin is an American designer and artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She first came to fame at the age of 21 as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) in Washington, D.C. Her minimalist design aroused controversy but has become very popular with the public over the years. Lin is one of just 13 “groundbreaking Americans” featured in Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, a children’s book by United States President Barack Obama. She was born on October 5, 1959.
Note: After checking the list of people featured in Obama’s children’s book, I realized that Maya Lin is character #13 of 13, thus completing my Of Thee I Sing 8-bit series. Mission accomplished.
Jane Addams was a pioneering American social worker, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women’s suffrage and world peace. In an era when presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson identified themselves as reformers and social activists, Addams was one of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era. She campaigned for better social conditions and led investigations into child welfare, local public health and education. She introduced the idea of the settlement house to the United States, co-founding Hull House in 1889. In 1920, she co-founded the ACLU. In 1931, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the U.S. Addams was born on September 6, 1860 and died on May 21, 1935.
Georgia O’Keeffe was an American artist who first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916. She made large-format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if seen through a magnifying lens, and New York buildings, most of which date from the same decade. O’Keeffe has been recognized as the mother of American modernism. In the 1920s, she turned to working more representationally in an effort to move her critics away from Freudian interpretations. While her earlier work had been mostly abstract, O’Keeffe became best known for sensual, floral works that evoke veiled representations of female genitalia. She rejected feminists who celebrated her as the originator of “female iconography.” O’Keeffe was born on this day in 1887.
P.S. This 8-bit version of Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired by her flower paintings and the many nude portraits her husband, famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz, took of her. I think the three colorful flowers I drew ended up kind of looking like Wonder Woman-themed underwear or maybe a boxing championship title belt.
Jackie Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. As the first MLB team to play a black man since the 1880s, the Dodgers ended racial segregation that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. Robinson’s character and talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. Over 10 seasons, Robinson played in six World Series, winning one in 1955. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games (1949-1954), was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949.
Note: In 1997, Major League Baseball “universally” retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. This is pixel art character #642.
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed “Lady Day,” she pioneered a new vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists. Holiday is perhaps most celebrated for singing “Strange Fruit,” a protest song that became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording. She died on this day in 1959.
Helen Keller is an American author and political activist. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller’s teacher broke through the isolation and helped her learn to communicate is the basis for the play and film The Miracle Worker. A prolific author, Keller was outspoken in her opposition to war and campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights and socialism.
Helen Keller is one of a trio of American women activists (along with Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman) that recently appeared to my girlfriend in a dream.
The dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He was the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789-1797). Washington is universally regarded as the “Father of his Country.” He died on this day in 1799.
Note: This completes my 8-bit Mount Rushmore series. So far, I have drawn nine of the 43 U.S. presidents.
Since 1990, citizens in South Dakota have been celebrating Native American Day instead of Columbus Day. This makes me happy. Screw Columbus anyway. Even though Columbus was a wretched human being and wrong about everything, he was lucky enough to survive his catastrophic miscalculations and find uncharted land before his crews starved to death.
An American aviator and former NASA astronaut best known as the first person to set foot on the Moon. The first Moon walk occurred exactly 42 years ago today. Armstrong served as commander of the 1969 Apollo 11moon landing mission, which fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s goal of reaching the Moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s.
A Mexican-American labor leader who dedicated his life to social justice and used nonviolent methods to fight for the rights of migrant farm workers in the southwestern United States. He founded and led the first successful farm workers’ union in U.S. history. In 1994, Chávez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
I can’t help but think of Batman when I see the United Farm Workers logo (Aztec eagle) in 8-bit form. Oh well.
Prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He worked to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience. When he was assassinated in 1968, his efforts had been refocused on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War. Watch King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech or listen to “Let Freedom Ring” by Flocabulary.
P.S. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity and revolutionized physics. He’s a popular model for depictions of mad scientists and absent-minded professors.
Helen Keller – No. 376
Helen Keller is an American author and political activist. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller’s teacher broke through the isolation and helped her learn to communicate is the basis for the play and film The Miracle Worker. A prolific author, Keller was outspoken in her opposition to war and campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights and socialism.
Helen Keller is one of a trio of American women activists (along with Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman) that recently appeared to my girlfriend in a dream.