>> PREVIOUSLY ON "ROOTED," WE EXPLORE THE LIFE OF BOSTON’S ARTIST REPORTER.

NOW WE TURN TO HOW HE IS BEING REMEMBERED AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE UNSUNG.

>> I AM HERE WITH A LADY OF NO MEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN HER OWN RIGHT, A WONDERFUL WOMAN.

MS.

ELMA LEWIS.

MS.

LEWIS, DO YOU HAVE ANY FOND MEMORIES OF HIM THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US TONIGHT?

>> I SUPPOSE ANY MEMORY OF ALAN CRIPE WOULD BE A FOREIGN MEMORY, BUT WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN YEARS OLD, I WOULD SIT ON THE STEPS WITH FRIENDS AND HE WOULD GO BY.

ALAN WAS 18 AND WE WERE LITTLE CHILDREN.

I WOULD SAY, THERE GOES ALAN, HE’S AN ARTIST.

IT WAS EXCITING.

ALLAN CELEBRATED BLACK PEOPLE WHEN BLACK PEOPLE WERE NOT EVEN IN BOSTON.

HE MADE THE ANGELS AND JESUS AND EVERYBODY BLACK.

>> CRITE’S NAME DOESN’T RING AS LOUDLY, BUT HIS WORK IS NO LESS PROFOUND.

TODAY, HIS WORK IS BEING REDISCOVERED, FEATURED IN MAJOR EXHIBITIONS AND REFRAMED BY CURATORS AND SCHOLARS.

>> YOUR THE CURATOR AND DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM.

YOU HAVE AN EXHIBIT OF MR.

CRITE ’S WORK UP.

HOW SIGNIFICANT DO YOU THINK ALLAN’S CONTRIBUTION IS?

>> IT IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE WHOLE OF AMERICAN ART AS WELL AS SPECIFICALLY TO THE AREA OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART.

HIS WORK SHOULD BE SEEN IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPORTANT AMERICAN ART FIGURES, PARTICULARLY FIGURES WHOSE WORK COMES INTO ITS OWN IN THE 1930’S.

RAPHAEL SAWYER, REGINALD MARSH.

A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE WE THINK OF AS PAINTING THE AMERICAN SCENE.

MR.

CRITE HAS MADE HIS SPECIALTY PAINTING THE BOSTON SCENE, AND THE PART OF THE BOSTON SCENE HE HAS PAINTED HAS BEEN VERY MUCH THE WORLD OF BLACK PEOPLE IN BOSTON.

AND MORE THAN THAT, IT HAS BEEN A VERY AFFIRMATIVE VIEW OF THAT WORLD.

IT IS NOT A VIEW OF BROKEN PEOPLE, IT IS A VIEW OF PEOPLE ALIVE, GOING ABOUT DAILY PURSUITS, THE PLACES THEY WENT, HOW THEY ENJOYED THEIR TIME.

>> HE WAS A THINKER.

I THINK ALL OF HIS WRITTEN WORK -- HE HAD THIS KIND OF TOME OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY THAT HE HAD BEEN WRITING FOR SOME TIME AND HE HAD THESE CHAPTERS THAT WERE ABOUT PARTICULAR DECADES.

IN THEM, HE WAS COMMENTING ON THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIOPOLITICAL ISSUES AS WELL AS THE VISUAL WORK HE WAS MAKING ALONGSIDE OF IT.

HE TOURED THE COMBAT ZONE WITH HIS NOTEPAD AND DID DRAWINGS AND SKETCHING’S.

YES, HE WROTE ABOUT ABORTION, ABOUT WOMEN’S RIGHTS.

I THINK HIS EARLY MATERIAL, EVEN IF HE WAS NOT ARTICULATING SOME OF HIS POLITICAL STANCES, HIS LOVE FOR THE BACK -- FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY, HIS HOME EDGES TO BLACK WORKERS, BLACK VETERANS, REALLY COMES THROUGH IN ALL OF HIS WORK UNTIL HE STARTS DOING THE KIND OF TEXTUAL REFLECTION THAT WE SEE HIM BEGINNING TO DO IN THE 1960’S AND 1970’S.

HE’S GOT A LONG HISTORY OF BEING REALLY THOUGHTFUL AND ENGROSSED IN RESEARCH FOR ALL OF THE THINGS HE IS PRODUCING, AND SOME OF IT WE HAVE EVIDENCE OF THE WRITING HE IS DOING, WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT ALL THE THINGS HE HAS LEARNED IN ORDER FOR HIM TO PRODUCE THE THING THAT HE IS PRODUCING.

SOME OF THE EARLIER THINGS WE DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF WRITING FOR, BUT WE KNOW THAT WAS HIS INCLINATION AND THE WAY HE APPROACHED DOING HIS VISUAL WORK.

>> IN 1968, I WROTE THIS LITTLE BOOKLET YOU SEE BEFORE YOU ON THE REDISCOVERY OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES.

ONE OF MY REASONS FOR DOING THAT IS THE WAY HISTORY IS PRESENTED IS MORE OR LESS A LITTLE MORE ONE-SIDED, ANGLO-SAXON APPROACH, WHICH HAS A CERTAIN VALIDITY, BUT THE ONLY DIFFICULTY WITH IT IS IT DOES NOT INCLUDE EVERYTHING ELSE.

MY PRESENTATION IS THAT I FEEL THAT THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE AMERICAS IN GENERAL, THE U.S.

IN PARTICULAR, SINCE WE LIVE HERE, IS AN AFRO EUROPEAN CULTURE ON TOP OF AN INDIAN BASE .

WHEN I HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE 1969 IS TO PRODUCE A SERIES OF THREE GROUPS OF SLIGHT TAPE PRESENTATIONS, THREE GROUPS OF TALKS, ONE DEALING WITH THE INDIAN, BECAUSE THAT IS OUR BASE, AND THE SECOND DEALING WITH THE AFRICAN AND THE THIRD DEALING WITH THE EUROPEAN.

WHEN I SAY EUROPEAN, I REALLY MEAN EURASIAN.

THERE ARE ABOUT 24 TALKS IN EACH FACET.

AT PRESENT, I HAVE COMPLETED THE INDIAN SECTION.

THE AFRICAN SECTION I HAVE COMPLETED THE TEXT FOR, BUT THE SLIDES I WILL COMPLETE, AND FOR THE EURASIAN SECTION I HAVE COMPLETED ABOUT SIX TALKS.

I THINK I HAVE DONE ABOUT THREE TALKS WITH THE SLIDES AND TAPES.

I THINK IT WILL TAKE ABOUT THREE MORE YEARS TO COMPLETE THIS.

>> I LOVE THE FACT THAT HIS WORK CENTERED ON BOSTON AND PEOPLE IN THE CITY, REAL PEOPLE, PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD SEE ON COLUMBUS AVENUE, THAT YOU WOULD SEE THROUGH A PARADE ON HAMMOND STREET.

THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE.

THEY WERE NOT PORTRAITS, IF YOU WILL COME OF ANY FOLKS WHO WERE OUTSIDE OF NORMAL EVERYDAY PEOPLE IN ANY CITY, REALLY, BUT FOR HIM, THE CITY OF BOSTON.

THAT THEN SPEAKS TO HOW HE WOULD -- WAS SO UNSELFISH, SO GIVING TO FOLLOW HIS OWN INTEREST IN CAPTURING BLACK LIFE IN PARTICULAR IN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND NOT MOVING SOUTH TO NEW YORK, NOT MOVING SOUTH TO ATLANTA, OR ANY OF THESE OTHER BIGGER CITIES WHERE PETE COULD ESTABLISH -- WHERE HE COULD ESTABLISH A NAME FOR HIMSELF.

HE WAS SO CONTENT LIVING IN DOCUMENTING LIFE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.

>> ALLAN WAS SOFT-SPOKEN BUT FIRM IN HIS BELIEFS, AND AS A NEIGHBOR, HE WAS A PERSON WHO COULD BE COUNTED ON TO SPEAK FOR THE COMMUNITY IN WAYS THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE NOT ALWAYS ABLE TO CAPTURE.

ALLAN HAD DEPICTED LIFE IN THE SOUTH END AND THROUGHOUT BOSTON IN A WAY THAT REALLY DISTINGUISHES THE SPIRITUALITY AND LIFE FORCES THAT EXISTS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.

>> I THINK HE BROUGHT A VERY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE TO HIS WORK.

HE REFERRED TO HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST REPORTER, AND BOTH OF THOSE TERMS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO THAT DESIGNATION, BECAUSE YES, HE IS RECORDING WHAT HE SEES, DEPICTING CERTAIN BUILDINGS AND STREETS IN A FATEFUL WAY, BUT HE IS ALSO REALLY FRAMING SCENES FROM HIS OWN PERSPECTIVE AND INCORPORATING THE THINGS HE THINKS ARE IMPORTANT.

I THINK ANY ARTIST DOES THAT.

NO PERSPECTIVE IS COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE, SO IT IS CRUCIAL TO HAVE ONE’S OWN UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE REPRESENTED.

I ALSO THINK HIS VOICE WAS SO IMPORTANT.

HE RESPONDED CREATIVELY TO SO MUCH OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY.

A LOT HAPPENED THROUGHOUT HIS LIFETIME.

FOR HIM TO SEIZE UPON THE THINGS THAT HE FOUND IMPORTANT AND WANTED TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE, HE WAS RECORDING STORIES, RECORDING THESE EVERYDAY MOMENTS, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT THEM AND SORT OF SPREADING ALL OF THIS GOOD STUFF.

>> I FEEL LIKE CRITE HAS KIND OF BEEN WITH US ON THIS JOURNEY, AND SOMETHING THAT REALLY CAME ACROSS IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE, THANKS TO A WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHER, OF MR.

CRITE’S HOME.

IT IS A SCHOOL GROUP OR CAMP GROUP VISITING AND ALSO SOME PANNING SHOTS SO PEOPLE CAN REALLY SEE WHAT IS GOING ON.

IT IS OLDER FILM FROM THE 1980’S, AND WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE KIND OF GETTING THE RESOLUTION TO MODERN SCREENS, AND WE ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH WHAT WE SHOULD DO.

MY MY COLLEAGUES WHO IS WORKING ON THE SHOW CAME HOME TO HER HOUSE IN JAMAICA PLAIN AND WHAT IS SITTING ON HER PORCH BUT A DISCARDED 1986 TV, WHICH IS EXACTLY THE YEARS THAT THIS FOOTAGE COMES FROM.

IT’S JUST SITTING THERE.

AND SHE PICKED IT UP AND IT WORKED.

IT STILL WORKS, AND NOW IT IS IN THE SHOW, SHOWING THE FOOTAGE.

WHEN I TOLD THIS TO MR.

CRITE’S FRIENDS AND MENTEES, THEY WERE LIKE, THAT’S ALLAN.

THAT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE HE SORT OF LASTED THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE, BUT HE’S RIGHT.

IT IS SO MUCH BETTER ON THE VINTAGE TV, SO HE ALSO GAVE US A SOLUTION.

>> ALLAN DREAMED OF TURNING HIS HOME INTO A MUSEUM, A PLACE WHERE HIS ART COULD LIVE ON, BUT BUREAUCRACY IN CITY POLITICS STOOD IN THE WAY.

STILL, THE VISION SPEAKS VOLUMES OF HIS COMMITMENT TO ACCESS.

>> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PARALLELS BETWEEN HIM AND OUR FOUNDER, BUT THERE WAS THIS INTERESTING ONE WHERE MR.

CRITE WANTED TO TURN HIS HOUSE INTO A MUSEUM, AND IT WAS FILLED WITH ART.

HE, NOT UNLIKE ISABELLA, HAD A BIT OF AN ART TOWARD HER VIBE -- ART HOARDER VIBE.

THIS IDEA OF WANTING TO CREATE A HOUSE MUSEUM IS HE HAD -- HIS HOME IS NO LONGER INTACT AS HE HAD IT -- SO WHO ELSE GETS TO CREATE A HOUSE MUSEUM OR HOUSE FEELING MUSEUM THAT IS AROUND FOREVER?

>> I HAD A BODY OF WORK THAT IS NOT FOREVER, SO SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT.

IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED I SHOULD HAVE A MUSEUM.

THAT WAS NOT MY IDEA, BUT SOME OF THE OTHERS’ IDEAS.

THE MAIN IDEA IS THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORK SO THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT AND GAIN WHAT BENEFITS MIGHT BE INVOLVED.

SO I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

>> I THINK ALLAN WANTED VIEWERS OF HIS WORK TO LOVE HIS SUBJECTS AS MUCH AS HE DID.

I THINK HE WOULD BE DELIGHTED WITH AN EXHIBITION THAT PULLS THAT WORK TOGETHER AND DESCRIBES THE SENSE OF CARING AND LOVE THAT EXISTS WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.

>> CRITE HAD SUCH A LONG CAREER THAT HIS WORK WAS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING.

HE’S WORKING IN THE 1920’S, 19 30’S, 1940’S ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE EARLY 2000’S AND HIS DEATH.

I THINK HE KEEPS COMING BACK TO A THE SAME THEMES.

-- A LOT AT THE SAME THEMES.

HE LOVED DRAWING FIGURES, LOVED DEPICTING HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS IN HIS WORK.

BUT HE ALSO LOVED THIS CITY AND DEPICTING THE ARCHITECTURE AS IT IS CHANGING, THE GOOD AND THE BAD, EVERYTHING FROM DEMOLITION TO BUILDING TWO HISTORIC STRUCTURES.

HE’S ALWAYS COMING BACK TO THOSE SAME THEMES IN HIS WORK, WHETHER IT IS A WATERCOLOR FROM 1930 SOMETHING TO THE PRINTS HE IS MAKING IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

>> THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I WAS ABLE TO SEE IN CRITE’S MATERIALS THAT WERE AT THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM, BUT ALSO SOME PAPERS AT YALE.

ONE OF THEM IS AN UNDATED LECTURE THAT HE GAVE IN THE LATE 1950’S.

IN IT, HE’S GOT THIS GREAT QUOTE WHERE HE SAYS "IT IS RUNNING IS TO THINK OF CIVIL RIGHTS AS BEING NEGRO RIGHTS.

THERE IS NO PROVISION FOR RACIAL RIGHTS.

THERE ARE ONLY RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS."

HE IS WRITING THIS IN A TALK THAT HE IS GIVING TO SOME YOUNG MEN AT AN EPISCOPAL COLLEGE OR SOMETHING.

BUT IN IT, HE’S KIND OF SAYING SOME THINGS THAT WE ARE GOING TO HEAR DR.

REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING SAY NOT LONG AFTER HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

HE’S TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WITH A CAPITALIST SOCIETY THAT IS NOT ALWAYS FOCUSED ON THE HUMAN AND THAT MIGHT BE MORE FOCUSED ON MECHANIZATION, FOR EXAMPLE.

AND ON COMMODITIES AND COMMODIFIED.

THERE ARE A LOT OF IDEAS THAT COME THROUGH IN THIS PC IS WRITING I THINK IN 1957, 1958, OR 1959, THAT ARE THINGS WE BECOME USED TO ATTRIBUTING TO KING IN THE EARLY 1960’S.

THE OTHER PIECE THAT I WAS LOOK -- THAT I WAS LIKE, BLOWN AWAY ABOUT, WE WOULD CALL IT THE MADONNA SERIES, AND IT’S THE OUR LADY OF MIGRANT WORKERS.

IT’S AT THE ATHENAEUM, THE PIECE THAT HE DOES.

I THINK HE DOES THIS PIECE IN 1961.

IT IS AN IMAGE OF A BROWN MADONNA WITH HER GROUND -- BROWN CHILD IN A FIELD OF MIGRANT WORKERS.

I WAS FLABBERGASTED WHEN I SAW THIS PIECE, BECAUSE WHAT I KNOW IS THAT ONE, CRITE HAD ACTUALLY DONE SOME WORK WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, SOME RELIEF WORK, WORKING WITH MOSTLY PUERTO RICAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN CRANBERRY BOGS AND ON THE CAPE AND TOBACCO FARMS IN WESTERN AND SOUTHERN MASSACHUSETTS SO HE WAS INTERESTED IN THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH MIGRANTS WERE WORKING.

HE HAD EXPERIENCED PREJUDICE AGAINST MIGRANT WORKERS.

SO WHEN HE DOES THIS "OUR LADY OF MIGRANT WORKERS" PIECE, IT IS AT THE SAME TIME, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HE IS DOING THIS RELIEF WORK WITH THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, BUT ALSO THAT THE UNITED FARM WORKERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE FORMING AND ORGANIZING SUCCESSFUL STRIKES THAT DEMAND IMPROVED WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS.

>> THERE ARE MOMENTS THAT FEEL LIKE A TRADITIONAL JIM -- MUSEUM SHOW, WHERE YOU’RE SEEING THE LABEL AND THE THING YOU ARE USE TO AND WE TRY TO CREATE MOMENTS OF SURPRISE THAT HELP YOU BE TRANSPORTED TO MR.

CRITE’S BOSTON THAT HE LIVED IN, THAT HE HOSTED IN.

I HOPE PEOPLE DISCOVER THAT WITH US.

>> I THINK THAT IT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON TO CATCH UP WITH ALLAN CRITE.

I DON’T THINK WE WERE AT A PLACE IN TIME WHERE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD AND COULD APPRECIATE THE MAGNIFICENCE THAT HE WAS CREATING AT COLUMBUS AVENUE.

THAT WAS THERE.

AND WE HAVE DOCUMENTATION.

WE HAVE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THAT.

BUT THE CITY WAS NOT THERE YET, SO IT IS THE CITY’S RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE ARE THERE NOW.

AND I THINK THAT THE EVOLUTION, HIS SHOULDERS ARE THE FOLDERS UPON WHICH THE BLACK COLLECTIVE ARTISTS STOOD.

I THINK ALL ARTISTS MOVING FORWARD OR STANDING UPON THEM.

BECAUSE HE WAS ALONE.

THERE WAS NO COLLECTIVE.

IT DID NOT STOP HIM.

HE WAS EVEN MORE PROLIFIC, I THINK.

JUST THE WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF ART IS JUST -- I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL, BUT NOW I SEE JUST HOW UNIQUE, DISTINCT, AND DISTINGUISHED HIS WORK REALLY IS.

>> CRITE’S LIFE OFFERS A MODEL FOR BLACK ARTISTS SEEKING AUTONOMY.

HE BUILT SYSTEMS.

HE SHOWED THAT ART CAN BE SUSTAINABLE, SACRED, AND ROOTED IN COMMUNITY.

HIS LEGACY AS A BLUEPRINT FOR CREATIVE SELF-DETERMINATION.

>> I’M STANDING HERE WITH NONE OTHER THAN SUSAN THOMPSON, AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST IN HER OWN RIGHT.

ALLAN IS YOUR MENTOR.

YOU ARE HIS PROTÉGÉ.

AS A RESULT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP, WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE MOST VALUABLE TO YOUR ARTWORK?

>> ALLAN HAS GUIDED MY CAREER ALL ALONG.

HE STOPPED AND SAID HE JUST WANTED TO BE MY LAUNCHING PAD AND GET ME STARTED IN MY CAREER, AND THAT’S WHAT HE’S DONE.

>> WHAT KIND OF INPUT DOES HE GIVE YOU?

>> ALL KINDS, IN TERMS OF HELPING ME WITH MY WORK AND KIND OF -- HE’S BEEN AN INFLUENCE ON THE JOBS I’VE HAD, ON THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT HAVE COME MY WAY.

>> GREAT.

>> I THINK ALLAN IS A GREAT INFLUENCE ON TODAY’S ARTISTS BECAUSE HE REMINDS OF THE NEED TO SHOW THEMSELVES -- REMIND PEOPLE OF THE NEED TO SHOW THEMSELVES, TO REPRESENT THEMSELVES IN WHATEVER MEDIA THEY HAPPEN TO CHOOSE.

HE ALSO REPRESENTS A KIND OF SPIRITUAL BASIS FOR HOW COMMUNITIES COME TOGETHER.

I THINK PARTICULARLY DURING TIMES OF TUNNELED -- TUMULT AND DISSENSION, ALLAN’S WORK REMAINS AS OF THE NEED TO BUILD COMMUNITIES FROM THE FAMILY AND FROM SPIRITUAL VALUES ON UP.

>> WHEN I STARTED, THERE WERE VERY FEW PROFESSIONAL BLACK ARTISTS AROUND.

THEY WERE ALMOST LIKE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, IN A WAY.

BUT THERE HAS BEEN A GROWTH OF ARTISTS, AND TODAY WE REALLY HAVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TALENT IN BOSTON, REAL TALENT OF AN EXPLICIT NATURE -- EXPLOSIVE NATURE.

WE COULD BE IN FOR A CULTURAL EXPLOSION IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, THE LIKE OF WHICH COULD COMPARE FAIRLY WITH THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE.

>> THE BOSTON CRITE ENVISIONED WAS SO VIBRANT AND FULL OF COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD SERIES AND ESPECIALLY IN THE PRINTS HE’S DOING LATER IN HIS CAREER.

I STILL SEE THAT LATER TODAY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE EXHIBITIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATALOG.

WE WERE JUST TALKING TO SO MANY PEOPLE, AND THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN SO FUN ABOUT THIS PROJECT, IS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE WERE IMPACTED BY HIM AND REMEMBER HIM AND WANTED TO HONOR HIS LEGACY THAT WE JUST REALLY SAW THE COMMUNITY COME TO LIFE, RALLYING AROUND THIS INCREDIBLE ARTIST.

>> HE WAS GENEROUS AS A HUMAN, AS A MENTOR, AS AN ARTIST, WHETHER IT IS GIVING PEOPLE ART, TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO MAKE ART.

GENEROSITY WAS CORE TO WHO HE WAS.

WE TRY TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO MAKE IT SHOW THAT FEELS AS GENEROUS AS MR.

CRITE.

THAT MEANS BRINGING IN MULTIPLE PEOPLE TO THE PROCESS.

IT HAS BEEN A COLLABORATIVE EXHIBITION PROCESS THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH.

AND ALSO, I HOPE PEOPLE, WHEN THEY LOOK AT THE ART CAN SEE THAT HE SHOWS PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY BEING GENEROUS WITH EACH OTHER, THAT THAT’S WHAT THEY WILL TAKE AWAY.

GENEROSITY IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR WORLD.

CRITE WAS A PROPHET OF GENEROSITY, AND HIS ART HELPS US LEARN THAT.

>> BECAUSE THERE IS THIS IDEA THAT INSTITUTIONALLY HE DOES NOT GET THE KIND OF ATTENTION THAT CERTAINLY WHITE ARTISTS MAY BE OF THE SAME TIME AND MAYBE EVEN SOME OTHER BLACK ARTISTS ARE GETTING.

I THINK THAT IS TRUE THAT CRITE DOES NOT GET THE SAME ATTENTION INSTITUTIONALLY ACROSS HIS CAREER AND LIFE AS HE SHOULD.

BUT I THINK THIS IS TRUE OF LOTS OF ARTISTS -- BLACK ARTISTS.

BUT WITHIN THE BLACK ARTIST COMMUNITY, I DON’T KNOW THAT THAT’S EXACTLY TRUE.

I THINK THAT THE BLACK ARTISTS THAT HE WAS IN COMMUNITY WITH IN BOSTON WERE CERTAINLY VERY AWARE OF HIM.

THERE IS AN ARTICLE THAT I FOUND IN "THE CHICAGO DEFENDER" IN THE 1940’S THAT IS PROFILING HIM.

I THINK THE BLACK COMMUNITY KNEW WHO ALLAN CRITE WAS WHILE HE WAS PRODUCING AND BLACK ARTISTS WERE ABSOLUTELY PAYING ATTENTION TO HIM, AND HE WAS AN IMPORTANT MENTOR TO A LOT OF BLACK BOSTON ARTISTS AND A LOT OF BLACK ARTISTS GENERALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

>> FOR BLACK ARTISTS, OWNERSHIP IS OFTEN A TIGHT ROPE, BALANCING THE NEED TO SELL WITH THE FEAR OF SELLING OUT.

CRITE DID NOT WAIT FOR INSTITUTIONS TO VALIDATE HIM.

HE PRINTED HIS OWN WORK, PUBLISHED HIS OWN WRITING, AND MADE HIS ART ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT COMPROMISE.

HE LIVED AS AN ARTIST.

HE DID NOT JUST DIE AS ONE.

IN DOING SO, HE OFFERED A BLUEPRINT FOR HOW BLACK CREATORS CAN SUSTAIN THEMSELVES WITH INTEGRITY.

>> ALLAN’S NEIGHBORHOOD HAS CHANGED, AND THERE ARE NOT AS MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR LIVING IN THE SOUTH END TODAY AS THERE WAS WHEN HE WAS MAKING HIS ART THERE.

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE ACROSS THIS CHANGED BOSTON WILL BE VERY SURPRISED TO SEE HIS WORK AND REALLY GET A SENSE OF WHAT COMMUNITY LIFE WAS LIKE DURING THE DECADES THAT HE LIVED IN THE SOUTH END.

PARIS: THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF ROOTED WHERE WE HONOR THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BOSTON’S OWN ALLAN CRITE.

STAY CONNECTED, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER, FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE AND SPOTIFY OR WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS.

IF THERE’S SOMEONE YOU THINK WE SHOULD FEATURE ON "ROOTED REMEMBERS," DROP US A LINE.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, STAY ROOTED, STAY DEFINED, AND STAY TUNED.

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