I Accuse c. 1950

Charles White made "I Accuse" without a known date, using what looks like oil on canvas, building up the image through layers of pigment. The process here feels deliberate. Look at the way the colors blend—the blues and browns of the figure, the highlights and shadows that give her form. White uses color not just to describe, but to evoke feeling. I notice the texture, especially on the woman’s face and hands, built from many small marks. These marks aren't hidden; they're part of the story. See how she holds the book, almost like she’s presenting evidence? It's a powerful gesture, a moment frozen in time. The book itself is rendered with a kind of rough simplicity, the pages thick and solid, while her pointing gesture seems to break the fourth wall. White's work shares a sensibility with artists like Jacob Lawrence, who also used art to tell stories of struggle and resilience. But White's use of light and shadow, his attention to the physicality of paint, gives this piece a unique emotional depth. It's a painting that invites questions, not answers, and leaves you pondering long after you’ve moved on.