The organization was a major driving force behind the development, production and dissemination of black art in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
In embracing the self-determination concept of the 1960s, Black artists were charged with charting their ideological direction and aesthetic principles.
[4] In that spirit, a coalition of more than 50 artists, called Twentieth Century Creators, was formed under the leadership of James Sneed and Malikah Rahman.
[1] Among the founding members were Ben Jones, Otto Neals, Taiwo DuVall, Ademola Olugebefola, Okoe Pyatt, Emmett Wigglesworth, Gaylord Hassan, Abdullah Aziz, Dindga McCannon, and Kay Brown.
[6] In 1967, five member artists, Aziz, G. Falcon Beazer, Taiwo DuVall, Rudy Irvin, and Neals, founded Nyumba Ya Sanaa Gallery (“House of Art” in Swahili).