George McCalman is a San Francisco based fine artist, designer, creative director- known for his monthly column Observed in the SF Chronicle. Six years ago, he began painting portraits of Black pioneers for Black History Month as a fine arts exercise. But he wanted to continue it beyond just that month.
His new book is – Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen. It includes 145 original portraits and short biographies of McCalman’s inspiring black heroes- some you may know well, and others you may never have heard of. Hana spoke with McCalman. He talked about the book, the inspiration for it, and the challenges of being a Black author in a very white publishing industry.
This interview was produced by Erin Copp.