Lois Maliou Jones

In honor of Black History Month, every school day The Cardinal will feature a prominent and/or historical Black American, living or dead, who has worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made contributions to make society a better place.

February 15, 2024

Lois Maliou Jones was born on November 3, 1905 in Boston, Massachusetts, and was not only an educator but an artist as well.

Jones studied at Boston High School of Practical Art, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Designers Art School of Boston. She was a huge role model to other African American artists who took design courses with her at Howard University from 1930-1977. Jones is well known for her work that represented the daily life of African Americans that lived in New York. Her art represented her life throughout her work which is why you will see shifts in her style. These changes are responses to influences throughout her life.

In 1973, Jones received the “Women artists of the Caribbean and Afro-American Artists” grant from Howard University. In the same year, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Colorado State Christian College. On July 29, 1984, Lois Jones Day was declared in Washington, DC. In 1997, Jones’ paintings were featured in an exhibition entitled Explorations in the City of Light: African-American Artists in Paris 1945–1965 that appeared at several museums throughout the country including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Studio Museum of Harlem.

Jones also contributed to the Harlem Renaissance through her vibrant artwork. She did this by including pieces of African masks, textile designs and figures which reflected her deep appreciation for her heritage by representing it in her work. Jones left a lasting mark in the art world, and her peers in school looked up to Jones and often looked in her direction for inspiration and influence. Much of her work featured a blending of tradition with modernism in a unique influential manner.

In 1998, Jones died with no immediate survivors at the age of 92 at her home in Washington, DC.

About the Contributor

Cynthia Navarro, Staff Writer

Cynthia Navarro is a student currently attending her junior year at Hoover highschool and was born on April 9th, to her Salvadoran parents Evelyn and Carlos Navarro who immigrated to San Diego, California in the late 90’s bringing their dreams of giving their children a life full of opportunities with them.

Cynthia loves putting her creativity to work by using most if not all of her free time doing anything art or music related. She spends lots of her time playing the violin, piano, and guitar because it gives her a sense of solitude. If she could pick a place to spend the rest of her life at, it would definitely be the beach. She loves diving into the crashing waves and the feeling of the sand against her feet while on walks full of sunsets.

Cynthia's goals for the 2023-24 school year are to stay on top of all of her classes to the best of her abilities and get more involved at school. She also wishes to try and come out of her shell more and make the effort to talk to new people outside of the circle she's currency in. Around new people she may not say much or even look up at them but around her friends she's the complete opposite, she goes from being the quietest one in the room to being more than loud especially when around her best friend Alejandra.