Bringing Aaron Douglas's Legacy Back to Topeka

The painter Aaron Douglas was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance arts movement of the 1920s and 30s. Colleagues in New York City at the time like Langston Hughes and WEB DuBois considered him the "Dean of African American Painters."

By KC Currents host Delores Jones

Kansas City, Missouri – Colleagues in New York City at the time like Langston Hughes and WEB DuBois considered him the "Dean of African American Painters."

Aaron Douglas grew up in Topeka, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Nebraska and taught art at Lincoln High School here in Kansas City. A group of artists, students and community volunteers are bringing Douglas' legacy back to Topeka.

They've recreated one of his murals in a neighborhood known as Tennessee Town--the mural, called, "Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery Through Reconstruction."

KC Currents host Delores Jones talked to

Lawrence-based artist David Loewenstein who coordinated the project. (Aired on May 29, 2005 on KC Currents, Sundays between 5 and 6 pm)