I Know a Man ... Ashley Bryan

"I Know a Man ... Ashley Bryan" is an antidote to the hatred, racism and division in our country. The film is about this 90+ year-old artist who celebrates the awe and wonder of childhood in us all. Ashley died February 4, 2022 at the age of 98. His life and art are being hailed across the nation in obituaries in the NY Times, Washington Post, NBC News, Publishers Weekly, NPR, many more. Born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Ashley’s talent was nurtured by artist Romare Bearden. After high school he was told “it would be a waste to give a scholarship to a colored person.” So he applied to Cooper Union because “they don’t see you there” (in the application). Ashley was drafted out of Cooper Union at age 19 into the segregated US army and served in an all-Black battalion preserving his humanity by drawing, stowing supplies in his gas mask. Ashley lived on the remote Cranberry Islands, Maine, and had been using art his entire life to celebrate joy, mediate the darkness of war and racism, explore the mysteries of faith, and create loving community. He is a poet/illustrator of over 60 children's books most published by Simon and Schuster (Freedom Over Me written at 93, and Infinite Hope written at 95 were both reviewed in the NY Times), and makes magical puppets and sea glass windows from found objects inspired by his African heritage. The film explores his world from the time his father “was given the mop and the broom”, a reference to Gordon Parks famous photograph. He quotes Marian Anderson admonishing “to keep another down you have to hold them down, and therefore cannot … soar to the potential within you.” He spreads joy and beauty through his linocut prints exhorting “Let My People Go”. His life story and the art he makes from this wellspring of experience is an inspiration to all.