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How is art a form of protest today? The story of Caleb "The Negro Artist" Rainey

  • Writer: Amy Lee Lillard
    Amy Lee Lillard
  • Dec 16, 2025
  • 2 min read


Can art be a form of protest? Does art really work as resistance? And how can you make protest art?


In times like these, it's natural to wonder if art is really important. If writing, music, performance, and other creative work really matters.


I find hope and inspiration from looking at stories of artists using their work to resist the status quo. The story of Caleb "The Negro Artist" Rainey is a super powerful example to show the way.


Listen to this story!

This is a special bonus episode of The Art of Resistance, focusing on modern artists creating writing, music, and more to resist the status quo.

 

Caleb Rainey grew up in Missouri. And he experienced the things a lot of young black men experience in this country. Like teachers treating him less than. Or police pulling him over for no reason.


Perhaps because of this, he started writing early. It was a way to feel seen, to feel validated.


And while he was intrigued by a poetry club at school, it was dedicated to a certain kind of poetry. You know the kind: buttoned-up, heavily-structured. White.


But then, he found something that demanded to be heard.

 

When it comes down to it, our human history is one of oral tradition. Writing is something very new in comparison to the storytelling that has defined humanity.


And in ‘Western’ society, written culture has often been used as a form of dominance. For centuries working people, indigenous peoples, and those not part of the white ruling classes were not taught to read and write (and in some cases prohibited). So oral tradition continued as a way to tell real stories of real people.


By the 1920s and 30s,  spoken word as an art form was paired with jazz music in the Harlem Renaissance and later in the 1950s in  the Beat scene. In the 60s and 70s, black poets affiliated with the civil rights and black arts

movements, including Gil Scott-Heron, used spoken word poetry. These poets are often tied to the birth of hip hop and rap a few years later.

 

Caleb came to Iowa as a young adult. He was writing a lot about race, unpacking feelings and experiences. And he started performing spoken word… in primarily white spaces.


That’s when he came up with his performance name: The Negro Artist.


Over the years, Caleb has made a mark on the scene, in Iowa and around the country. Filmmaker Nik Hearon even made a documentary, called The Negro Artist.


Today, Caleb teaches young people in IC Speaks, a group based in Iowa City working to empower youth to speak their truths.

 

That’s art as resistance.


Experience more of Caleb’s spoken word at the YouTube Channel, The Negro Artist. And stay through the credits for a full performance by Caleb in 2022 accompanied by the band Wave Cage.

 

The Art of Resistance is a podcast from Rebel Yell Creative.


SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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