Cecil Fergerson

His advocacy at LACMA and BAC led to seminal exhibitions of African-American art in the early 1970s.

• Name — Cecil Fergerson • Born — 6 July 1931 • Birthplace — Boley, Oklahoma, U.S. • Died — 18 September 2013 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Museum curator, community activist • Spouse — Miriam Fergerson

Fergerson was born outside the small town of Boley, Oklahoma, in 1931; his parents moving with him to Los Angeles in 1938. He graduated from Jordan High School in Watts, and studied at Compton Community College.

Fergerson started working in the L.A. County Museum system as a custodian at the Natural History Museum in 1948. By 1953, his position was elevated to museum helper, where he worked moving exhibits and installing artwork. An exhibit of French Expressionist paintings sparked his interest in art, and Fergerson began attending art lectures and reading extensively. By 1968, Fergerson continued to rise through the museum system, becoming an art preparator for LACMA, and began advocating for the inclusion of African-American artists in the museum's exhibitions. That year, Fergerson teamed with colleague Claude Booker to form the Black Arts Council, which grew to more than 1,000 members in two years. The BAC not only pressured LACMA to organize exhibitions for African-American artists, but also did extensive work supporting artists outside the museum. The BAC organized student field trips to art exhibits, gave lectures at schools, and curated art exhibitions at various community locations and events. Fergerson and Booker's work through the BAC began to produce results, namely in the form of two LACMA exhibitions: Three Graphic Artists: Charles White, David Hammons, and Timothy Washington in 1971, and Panorama in 1972, featuring Noah Purifoy, John Outterbridge, and Betye Saar. These shows paved the path for LACMA's 1976 exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art, which traveled to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, and the Brooklyn Museum. The BAC ceased activities in 1974 following the death of Booker.

After retiring from LACMA in 1985, Fergerson curated exhibits of African-American and Latin-American art across Los Angeles, often in community settings such as schools, churches, malls, gyms, and even prisons. Fergerson ran the Watts Summer Festival for 10 years, and curated for William Grant Still Community Arts Center and Watts Towers Arts Center. In 1989, Fergerson became director of the art gallery at Los Angeles Southwest College.

Cecil Fergerson is recorded as curator, activist, janitor, photographer and director.