The Black artist / Ishmael Reed, Ortiz Walton, and Joe Overstreet.

Novelist Ishmael Reed, musician Ortiz Walton, and painter Joe Overstreet discuss the traditions of Black art at the San Francisco Black Writers Workshop in 1970. They talk about the history of blacks being discouraged from participating in the arts in the United States, the co-optation of black cultural forms by white people and the difficulty black artists have in getting recognition or grants for their work. Walton mentions the protest of the New York Philharmonic for not hiring black musicians. The panelists discuss how the black community can take control of its artistic output by having outlets and arenas to display their work.