Madison artist Lilada Gee is well-known for her intricate and colorful artwork which can be seen all around Madison, often depicting Black girls and women experiencing joy. Her latest artwork, a yard sign for Vice President Kamala Harris promoting her brand-new campaign for president, is a personal and joyous endeavor for her.
“For Kamala Harris to be president of the United States, that would be so amazing. You know, Black women carry the burden for so many, and it would be fantastic to see a Black woman in the highest office because we have shown throughout history that we have the capability to care and love and show up for everybody,” Gee tells Madison365. “I think Kamala Harris will follow suit with this. This is really exciting.”
Gee has committed her life to the defending of Black girlhood and the healing of Black women. She is a beloved artist, author, international speaker, ordained minister, life coach and the founder and president of Defending Black Girlhood and Black Women Heal. She is well-known in Madison for creating art that tells the stories of Black women and girls and her beautiful artwork can be seen on everything from murals and yard signs to furniture, coffee cups, and more all over Madison.
It was huge news on Sunday when President Joe Biden, after a five-decade career in politics, announced that he would not run for re-election. Soon after, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his party faced a historic effort to replace him. On Monday, Harris secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president.
That’s when Gee started getting calls.
“I had a friend reach out to me, and she’s like, ‘We need yard signs!’ She was one of the 44,000 [women] that was on the Zoom call and was just really fired up and looking for ways that Black women could show up. She knew that I had done lawn signs before,” Gee says. The group Win With Black Women, which periodically holds Zoom calls, hosted a Zoom on Sunday evening that famously had 44,000 people join, according to its leaders.
“I had another woman who had gotten one of my Biden/Harris signs reach out to me as well and say, ‘Are you gonna do Kamala Harris signs?’ So it’s part of my contribution of wanting to do something to make a difference in this election, and then part of people being faithful to support me and my art calling upon me to do something in this time,” she adds.
Harris is the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president of the United States. If she defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in November, she will be the first woman to serve as president and the first Generation X president.
“I was on my Black women’s field trip, with a group of 40-some black women, and we get the announcement together, and we all were just elated and surprised and joyful to hear this news about Kamala Harris because it’s so historic on so many levels,” Gee says.
Kamala Harris for President signs that have a picture of Harris, and an American flag, and “I’m With Her” written on the top go for $30. Interested people can hit Gee up on her Facebook page or e-mail [email protected].
“I’m really excited about this. This has given me hope that I didn’t have before,” Gee says.
