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Elizabeth Catlett is celebrated as one of the foremost Black artists of the twentieth century. She is renowned for her commitment to social and political justice, subjects that recur in her prints, paintings, and sculptures. “I have always wanted my art to service my people—to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential,” she declared. Walking Blindly perfectly emulates this sentiment. It is one of six prints Catlett made to accompany Margaret Walker’s (1915-1998) most-notable poem from 1937, For My People. The poem teaches about the hardships that African Americans endured and celebrates their triumphs. (Walker and Catlett were life-long friends, meeting as roommates at the University of Iowa in 1940.) Rather than illustrating the poem literally, Catlett transforms Walker’s powerful words about the Black experience into six iconic images.

Walking Blindly illustrates the seventh stanza:

For my people walking blindly spreading joy, losing time
being lazy, sleeping when hungry, shouting when
burdened, drinking when hopeless, tied, and shackled
and tangled among ourselves by the unseen creatures
who tower over us omnisciently and laugh;

Van Every/Smith Galleries Blog: SEEN ON CAMPUS: WALKING BLINDLY by Gaby Sanclimenti ’25