Time Vol. 197, Nos. 5-6: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The February 15 / February 22, 2021, double issue of Time magazine featuring Amanda Gorman on the cover and a featured section on “The Black Renaissance.”

Gorman is depicted against a solid black background wearing a bright yellow dress with three-quarter, blouson sleeves and a V-shaped neckline. She stands in a regal, three-quarter pose, with her hands resting atop her proper left hip. Her braided hair is in an updo ornamented with a gold headband. The [TIME] title appears above and behind her in dark grey. Along the left side are headlines in yellow and white reading [AMANDA / GORMAN / A CONVERSATION WITH / MICHELLE / OBAMA] and [THE BLACK / RENAISSANCE / BY IBRAM X. KENDI]. The cover has a red border with the issue date at the top right and a barcode at the bottom right.

There are 113 interior pages, with color photographs and advertisements throughout. Pages 68-98 comprise a section on Black culture, literature, film, music, and creative works titled “Black Renaissance,” with an article by Ibram X. Kendi. Also featured in this section are Michelle Obama with Amanda Gorman, Rebecca Carroll with Brit Bennett, Jasmine Guillory, and Jacqueline Woodson, Josiah Bates and Andrew R. Chow, Marcus J. Moore, and Chad Sanders. The back cover has an advertisement for American Family Insurance.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2021
• Published by: Time, American, founded 1923
• Photograph by: Awol Erizku, Ethiopian American, born 1988
• Subject of: Amanda S. C. Gorman, American, born 1998
• Subject of: First Lady Michelle Obama, American, born 1964
• Subject of: Ibram X. Kendi, American, born 1982
• Subject of: Jason Bolden, American
• Subject of: Autumn Moultrie
• Subject of: Khiry, American
• Type: magazines (periodicals)
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D (each): 10 1/2 × 7 7/8 × 1/4 in. (26.7 × 20 × 0.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Poetry
• Object number: 2022.86.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Michelle Joan Wilkinson
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Time USA, LLC Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.