Cecil Fergerson

Cecil Fergerson (July 6, 1931 September 18, 2013) was an African-American art curator and community activist. He is widely credited with fostering African-American and Latin-American art communities in Los Angeles for more than 50 years, and was named a "Living Cultural Treasure" by the city in 1999. While working at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Fergerson co-founded the Black Arts Council (BAC) to advocate for African-American artists and support their community. His advocacy at LACMA and BAC led to seminal exhibitions of African-American art in the early 1970s.

Background and education

Fergerson was born outside the small town of Boley, Oklahoma, in 1931; his parents moving with him to Los Angeles in 1938. He graduated from Jordan High School in Watts, and studied at Compton Community College. The BAC not only pressured LACMA to organize exhibitions for African-American artists, but also did extensive work supporting artists outside the museum. The BAC organized student field trips to art exhibits, gave lectures at schools, and curated art exhibitions at various community locations and events. Fergerson ran the Watts Summer Festival for 10 years, and curated for William Grant Still Community Arts Center and Watts Towers Arts Center.