Today I am going to represent American black women simply because one she is a woman and secondly she is a black woman. Who in the past would not have been supported or represented simply because she is a woman and because she is black? 
So I want to showcase some of her works and some of her history, this artist is  Edmonia Lewis.

Lewis's father was an African Haitian was born in Ohio but the date is in doubt. She may have been born on July 14th of July 4th in 1843 or 45. Lewis lived with her mother in her earlier life and her mum's people the Mississauga band of Ojibway (Chippewa Indians). 

She was known as a wildfire, her brother was known as sunrise. When Lewis was about 10,  Lewis and her brother were orphaned, two Aunty's took then on, so from then on they lived near Niagra Falls in northern New York state.

Her brother sunrise had some wealth from the gold rush an then working as a barber put his sister through prep school education and then an education at Oberlin College, where she studied art in 1859. Oberlin was one of the very few schools at the time to admit either women or people of colour, two white girls accused her of attempting to poison them in 1962, she was acquitted. From then Lewis was subjected to verbal attacks, and beatings by anti-abolitionist vigilantes. Even though Lewis was not convicted in the incident, Oberlin's administration refused to allow her to enrol the next year to complete her graduation. So Lewis went to Boston and New York to study with sculptor Edward Brackett. Her first bust was of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a white Bostonian who led black troops in the Civil War. Lewis sold and made enough money and was able with the proceeds to move to Rome to study over there. This a very interesting read of this talented women and how hard she had to work, even though she suffered so much, what we call bullying now, for being black. 

https://www.thoughtco.com/edmonia-lewis-biography-3528795

 

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Edmonia+Lewis+works+of+art&safe=active&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqnITBnrLeAhUG4IMKHZASCJsQ_AUIDigB&biw=1360&bih=626#imgrc=1w8nwuMrU9tBPM: