"I didn't want a completely passive viewer. Art means too much to me. To be able to articulate something visually is really an important thing. I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn't walk away; he would giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful." —Kara Walker
Kara Walker is best known for her candid investigation of race, gender, sexuality, and violence which is reflected in this work. The text is an ode to Up from Slavery, by Booker T. Washington in which the author describes his experience of having to rise from the position of a slave and persist in his efforts to instil understanding of hygiene and dignity to students.