Description: This portrait was inspired by a young woman wearing a striking headdress and reading her very own book of poetry during the mid 1970's. Her clear eyes, smooth tan skin, and her sense of concern for African American culture combined to keep her audience attentive. It would not be very long before I began visualizing this face and painted it. As I reflect back, I think perhaps the headdress is exaggerated. Although a few decades have passed since that day, I remember her as an African American cultural icon.