Traveling (Lead Kindly Light)

Indiana-born William Edouard Scott created paintings and murals throughout his life that focused on elevating the stature of African Americans. Creating work in Paris, Mexico, Haiti and the American South, as well as Indiana, he interpreted blacks on canvas in positions of prominence doing noble deeds; a bold and uncommon approach for his time.

Scott was commissioned by W.E.B. DuBois to create several covers for The Crisis, the publication for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Traveling (Lead Kindly Lightly) was painted for the Easter 1918 issue. The painting depicts an exhausted but determined couple driving through the night, symbolizing the difficult journey taking African Americans towards a better life.