JEROME T. WHITE
Jerome T. White, a Cleveland-based artist and educator, blends history, spirituality, and culture in his figurative work inspired by Charles White and Dr. John Biggers. He studied Studio Art at Baldwin-Wallace College, Medical Illustration at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and earned a Master’s in Art Education from Case Western Reserve University. Jerome’s mixed-media approach evokes soul-stirring narratives through layered textures and symbolic imagery. He teaches at Monticello Middle School and contributes to community mural projects like Voices of Cleveland. Also, a children’s book author and illustrator, Jerome is committed to nurturing creativity and storytelling across generations.
JEROME T. WHITE
Terminal of Wings
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
And for me, their story and inspiration is close to home. My grandfather was a physical instructor to the Tuskegee Airmen. Given that it involves literally taking flight, from when I was young their story of wanting to reach for the sky has inspired me.
That is the beginning of Terminal of Wings. At its center is a young African-American girl standing on the end of a cliff, looking up over the ocean towards five aeroplanes flying in the distance. They are the iconic red tails of the first five Tuskegee Airemen.
She’s daydreaming about what she wants to do with her future and how she will fly. She’s wearing pilot’s goggles, earphones and a pilot’s scarf, blowing backwards. The wind is the resistance that can hold you back in life. The scarf is the US stars and stripes, representing the reality that so much of this country has been designed to hold people back. That’s also reflected in the references to our shared history of enslavement – of the ship that trafficked enslaved Africans to these shores and the cotton that they were forced to pick.
And yet she stands resolutely looking towards the future. Because she knows transformation is possible. She is surrounded by symbols of this: three butterflies in the colors of America. Symbols of transformation, of flight and of beauty. She knows it is possible, because generations – in this case the Tuskegee Airmen – have shown her it is.
It is the dreaming spirit of the America we have been promised, even when we didn’t receive that promise. It is the spirit of those generations who made good trouble to make good on that promise through their own courage, persistence and talents.
.
JEROMe’s “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing…”
Spread your wings and take risks. You can’t grow until you step beyond what you know. There’s always so much more than what we can currently see. So, to grow to our full, best selves, don’t be afraid to take risks in order to grow.
explore the theme
For everyone. For you.
By all of us. Join us.
Terminal of Wings
Jerome T. White
the artist's inspiration
The theme Good Trouble that I responded to comes from the iconic John Lewis’s words “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
In this country, where Black people have had to fight for every little thing – just for the right to be considered a full human – it was even a struggle to contribute and show our patriotism to a country that rarely showed up for us. And so when I thought about Good Trouble, I immediately thought of the Tuskegee Airmen.
They were the first African-American military aviators in the US Armed Forces, flying missions across Europe and North Africa in World War 2. Their story of fighting to fly and overcoming vile discrimination to show incredible courage and skill in battle has become the stories of legend, from books to movies. And yet their story is one of the simple extraordinary acts of ordinary people, determined to dream big, assert their dignity – and fight for a country better than the one they knew. For me, they were the definition of patriots.
And for me, their story and inspiration is close to home. My grandfather was a physical instructor to the Tuskegee Airmen. Given that it involves literally taking flight, from when I was young their story of wanting to reach for the sky has inspired me.
CAPITOL PARK, detroit
june 2024
That is the beginning of Terminal of Wings. At its center is a young African-American girl standing on the end of a cliff, looking up over the ocean towards five aeroplanes flying in the distance. They are the iconic red tails of the first five Tuskegee Airemen.
She’s daydreaming about what she wants to do with her future and how she will fly. She’s wearing pilot’s goggles, earphones and a pilot’s scarf, blowing backwards. The wind is the resistance that can hold you back in life. The scarf is the US stars and stripes, representing the reality that so much of this country has been designed to hold people back. That’s also reflected in the references to our shared history of enslavement – of the ship that trafficked enslaved Africans to these shores and the cotton that they were forced to pick.
And yet she stands resolutely looking towards the future. Because she knows transformation is possible. She is surrounded by symbols of this: three butterflies in the colors of America. Symbols of transformation, of flight and of beauty. She knows it is possible, because generations – in this case the Tuskegee Airmen – have shown her it is.
It is the dreaming spirit of the America we have been promised, even when we didn’t receive that promise. It is the spirit of those generations who made good trouble to make good on that promise through their own courage, persistence and talents.
JEROME’s “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing…”
Spread your wings and take risks. You can’t grow until you step beyond what you know. There’s always so much more than what we can currently see. So, to grow to our full, best selves, don’t be afraid to take risks in order to grow.
THEME
GOOD TROUBLE
Good Trouble charts the long march towards racial equity since Emancipation, with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States at its heart.
THEME
GOOD TROUBLE
Good Trouble charts the long march towards racial equity since Emancipation, with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States at its heart.
explore the theme
the artist's inspiration
The theme Good Trouble that I responded to come from the iconic John Lewis’s words “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
In this country, where Black people have had to fight for every little thing – just for the right to be considered a full human – it was even a struggle to contribute and show our patriotism to a country that rarely showed up for us. And so when I thought about Good Trouble I immediately thought of the Tuskegee Airmen.
They were the first African-American military aviators in the US Armed Forces, flying missions across Europe and North Africa in World War 2. Their story of fighting to fly and overcoming vile discrimination to show incredible courage and skill in battle has become the stories of legend, from books to movies. And yet their story is one of the simple extraordinary acts of ordinary people, determined to dream big, assert their dignity – and fight for a country better than the one they knew. For me, they were the definition of patriots.
For everyone. For you. By all of us. Join us.
PURPOSE
in our relationship with ourselves.
WORTHINESS
I am worthy of love dignity and respect.
AWARENESS
I know how I see the world and where it comes from.
BELIEF
I believe I have something valuable to offer.
PURPOSE
I know what inspires me and what I want to do.
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
JEROME T. WHITE
Jerome T. White, a Cleveland-based artist and educator, blends history, spirituality, and culture in his figurative work inspired by Charles White and Dr. John Biggers. He studied Studio Art at Baldwin-Wallace College, Medical Illustration at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and earned a Master’s in Art Education from Case Western Reserve University. Jerome’s mixed-media approach evokes soul-stirring narratives through layered textures and symbolic imagery. He teaches at Monticello Middle School and contributes to community mural projects like Voices of Cleveland. Also, a children’s book author and illustrator, Jerome is committed to nurturing creativity and storytelling across generations.
