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African Pride

James “Bongo” Allen, 1998.

James “Bongo” Allen was serving a life sentence in Indiana State Prison when he made this collage, titled African Pride. He had lost his freedom but not his voice, which spoke profoundly on themes of confinement, time, torment, music, racial pride, and spirituality through his many works. Allen never lacked creative inspiration, but materials in prison were difficult to come by. In 2005, he sent a letter to Dr. Floyd Thomas of the NAAMCC explaining his artistic process:

“I would take (2) paks [sic] of cigarettes and go to the carpenter-shop and have one of the cons cut me (3) boards to my measurement and specifications, then take (3) small mayonnaise jars to the paint-shop and give (2) paks to have them filled with three different colors of water-based paints. The next stop would be the print-shop where (2) paks would purchase a Nestlé jar of binders-glue. I had a friend who worked in the prison library. He would give me a box of old magazines that were stock-piled [sic] in the rear of the library. They were slated to be taken to the dump. All kinds of magazines from National-Geo [sic], to Cat-Fancy or Yachting Magazines. All of this stuff would be hauled to my cell, where I would explain to guards that I was working on a school project and be left alone. I worked with (2) single-edged razor blades and found that the best time to work was during the night from about 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM…But I always went to sleep happy for what I had done. So many ideas floated through my mind’s eye during sleep hours.” 

A number of Allen's original works are in the permanent collection of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center.