The 1920's...The Migrants Cast Their Ballots, 1974.

This print was included in the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio: Spirit of Independence (1975), published in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial of 1976. The portfolio includes the work of twelve American artists responding to the question: “What does independence mean to me?”

Lawrence’s print refers to the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South—a theme depicted in The Migration of the Negro series of paintings from his early career. Voting was a freedom many African Americans experienced for the first time after moving to cities in northern states.

LOOK FOR: The gear-and-lever voting machine visible in the booth in the background