Category Archives: Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist, Castro

1001 Black Men–#549

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A curious thing has happened since I first set out to draw 1001 Black Men. Somehow, I have managed to find Black people in all kinds of spaces in which I’ve been told there are no Black people. One such place is Alameda, CA. Literally a stone’s throw from Oakland, Alameda has a reputation not only for having very few Black residents, but also for being generally hostile to the presence of Black people. I cannot speak to the latter, but I can say that the African American minority is increasingly present. Over the years since I’ve been visiting Alameda–to see movies, have dinner, shop, and visit friends and family–the African American population has visibly increased, especially in the downtown shopping district.

All of this brings me to today’s drawing, because it is set in another area in which I have been told there are no African Americans, but in which I see Black people all the time. The Castro’s reputation for being hostile to the presence and participation of African American men is in many ways well-earned. But as is the case in every environment in which Black people have been shunned, excluded, or isolated, Castro’s Black patrons, residents, and visitors have pressed on, undaunted by the racism that they have encountered. The result is that there seem to be many more Black folks in the Castro than in past decades (based on what I have gleaned from older photos of that community). This brother, whose mustache seems straight out of a bygone era, was one of a number of Black men who entered or walked past the Castro area Peet’s during the two hours that I was drawing there. So were the next few men in this series.

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist, Castro, Paul Bunyan

1001 Black Men–#548

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If you want to see Bay Area male grooming at its best, go to the Castro district in San Francisco. I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot of Black men on both sides of the Bay with incredibly stylish facial hair. Still, the brothers in the Castro take that attention to detail and raise the bar a few notches.

This brother’s facial hair captures a certain rugged haphazardness, but in a studied and deliberate way. His knit cap created the effect of  bookish Black Paul Bunyan.

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist, Castro

1001 Black Men–#547

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One of my favorite places to draw and to write is the Peet’s Coffee and Tea on Market near Castro. I like the window seats because I can watch the people and cars and Muni as they make their way up and down this stretch of the street. This happy looking guy entered and exited the coffee shop several times as he greeting one and then another and another of his friends who passed outside. I loved his smile, his gregariousness, and his unique little hat.

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist

1001 Black Men–#546

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You just have to love the brother of a slightly advanced age–maybe 40-something or 50-something–who is still holding it down in the style department. You know the men I’m talking about. They’re middle-aged, but steady working that fashion angle, partly because they just love to look sharp, and partly because they just want you to know that they still care about style. The brother in this drawing was looking oh-so-fashionable in his jaunty hat, stud earrings, and (if my eyes were not deceiving me) with his recently whitened teeth. His facial hair was trimmed to perfection, and his suit was–of course–tailored with precision and care.

I remember reading an interview in which the rapper Nelly, a fitness enthusiast, said that a good body is a gift you give to yourself. Expanded to include brothers like the one in this drawing, that means that taking care of yourself–or, more specifically, giving yourself the gift of feeling and looking beautiful–is form of self love … and on Black people, who have been discouraged from loving themselves throughout their entire history in the Americas, self love has a beauty all its own.

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist

1001 Black Men–#538 (Plus Shameless Self-Promotion)

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  • “1001 Black Men–#538″
  • Acrylic, jigsaw puzzle pieces, an afro pick, and oil pen on canvas.
  • 24″ x 36″
  • June 11, 2013

See this painting and others (plus 200+ images from this online sketchbook) at the 1001 Black Men exhibit at the CIIS main building in San Francisco, 1453 Mission, third floor.

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance, Art, Black Men, African American, Artist

1001 Black Men–#534

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I’m really backlogged on drawings; and when I say backlogged, I mean that I’ve done loads of drawings in the past two months, but I’ve had very little time to get them up online. Still, I am taking a brief interlude from posting my backlogged work, all in order to show you this drawing I just completed today. I just got back from a research trip to Brown University’s John Hay Library. The trip overlapped with my college reunion, and so I used my study breaks to participate in some of the weekend’s reunion activities.

I graduated from Brown a couple decades ago, and since that time, the college has become both more selective and more diverse.  I have to say that watching the 2013 graduates march down the hill made me very proud, and even more so when I thought about the fact that despite the fact that admission to all of the Ivy League schools is more competitive than ever, the Brown has become even more diverse and with a greater proportion of Black students than when I was a student.

Go Bruno!

Ajuan Mance