Art Is Power Vol. I: Nine T-Shirts That Wear History
By Jason Hodges
My mother has been painting for over 30 years. She paints Black warriors and jazz legends and sharecroppers and women in church hats. She paints with acrylics and oils and fabric scraps and gold leaf. She paints things that belong on walls — and now they're on your chest.
That's what Art Is Power Vol. I is. Nine of her most powerful paintings, printed on oversized boxy tees that carry the same weight as the originals. This isn't a licensed image collection. There's no clip art involved. Every design starts with a painting she made by hand, in her studio, about real people and real history.
We built the collection around the silhouette that feels right for this moment — a wide, boxy, dropped-shoulder fit that hits that vintage HBCU energy everyone's been hunting for. The kind of oversized graphic tee that defined the yard at Howard and Spelman and Hampton in the late 80s and 90s. People are paying $60 for that look at thrift stores right now. We're giving you original Black art on top of it for $42.
Unisex sizing, XS–XXL. Heavyweight soft cotton. Ships in 3 business days.
Here are the nine shirts — and why each one matters.
The Dahomey Warrior Tee
Black · Toast · Natural
The Agojie were the elite all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey — the real warriors who inspired The Woman King. My mother painted this one as a heraldic portrait: a warrior at the center of a golden mandala, surrounded by mudcloth-inspired diamonds and kente-coded geometry. She is not performing strength. She is made of it.
The natural colorway on this tee looks like it came straight from a 1993 homecoming. That warm, worn-in cream with the bold art on the front — it's everything.
→ Shop the Dahomey Warrior Tee
The Maasai Warrior Tee
Black · Forest
The Maasai have resisted displacement, colonization, and erasure for generations. This portrait honors that endurance — a gold medallion composition that commands attention from across a room and from across the street. The forest green colorway is a standout. Pairs with olive cargos, dark denim, or whatever you've got. The art does the work.
The James Baldwin Tee
Black · Dark Grey · Navy
"Artists are here to disturb the peace."
Baldwin wrote that in 1962. It hits different in 2026. This portrait tee pairs his painted likeness with that quote in bold typography — the navy colorway has that classic HBCU bookstore feel, the kind of shirt you'd see on the yard. For the readers. The writers. The people who believe literature is an act of resistance.
The Nina Simone Tribute Tee
Black · Dark Grey · Navy
"An artist's duty is to reflect the times."
She said that in 1968. Still the assignment. This portrait is soulful and commanding and unapologetic — dark grey oversized, wide-leg jeans, and you've got a full look. One of the best Juneteenth shirts we make, but honestly it works every single day of the year.
The Billie's Blues Tee
White · Natural · Navy
Billie Holiday didn't just sing the blues. She lived inside them, transformed them, and gave them back to the world as art. This design is a cut-and-paste collage portrait — ransom-note typography, layered brushwork, everything she was. The natural colorway is the one. Cream-toned, vintage-feeling, the kind of oversized tee that looks like you found it somewhere special. You did.
The Billie Holiday Art Deco Tee
Black · Forest · Navy
A second Billie, because one wasn't enough. This version is bold and architectural — a vivid blue portrait in a gold art deco frame. Where the Billie's Blues Tee is raw and collaged, this one is structured and graphic. The forest green is the move right now. Two interpretations of the same icon. Both correct.
→ Shop the Billie Holiday Art Deco Tee
The Four Guys Tee (Dressed to Reign)
Black · Forest · Navy
Four Black men in their finest — straw hats, sharp suits, unapologetic style. Black dandyism has always been resistance. Getting dressed with intention, with dignity, with joy — that's a political act and it always has been. The navy colorway reads clean and classic. Great Father's Day gift. Great Juneteenth shirt. Great Tuesday shirt. All of the above.
The Sharecropper Tee
Toast · Natural
Before the Great Migration. Before the cities. Before everything that came after — there was the land. This continuous line portrait of a sharecropper in a tilled field is one of the most quietly powerful pieces my mother has made. The toast and natural colorways are warm and earthy and wearable with everything. A shirt that carries real weight, worn lightly.
The Rooted in the Land Tee
Toast · Natural
A companion to the Sharecropper. Same earth tones, same respect for what came before — but where that design is solitary and monumental, this one is about connection. To the soil. To the ancestors. To the people who built something out of nothing and kept going. The natural colorway has that worn-in vintage softness that's everywhere in streetwear right now. Pairs with literally everything.
→ Shop the Rooted in the Land Tee
How to Wear Them
The boxy fit is the foundation. Here's what works:
HBCU Yard: Oversized tee + wide-leg sweats or track pants + clean sneakers. Tuck one corner of the hem into your waistband for the 90s energy.
Streetwear: Tee + baggy carpenter jeans + chunky boots + crossbody. The art does the rest.
Elevated Casual: Front-tuck into high-waisted wide-leg trousers + loafers. Intentional. Five minutes.
Layered: Open flannel or denim jacket over the tee + biker shorts or slim joggers. The oversized silhouette works perfectly under outerwear.
Juneteenth Is June 19 — 20% Off Right Now
Every shirt in the Art Is Power collection is 20% off with code ARTISPOWER20 at checkout through June 19. Free shipping included.
These tees are for Juneteenth celebrations, HBCU students and alumni, music lovers, educators, and anyone who wants to wear art that actually means something. My mother made all of it. I'm proud to put it in your hands.
Shop the full Art Is Power Vol. I collection at artbyashodges.com →
Jason Hodges is the co-founder of Inkwell Fine Art Prints and the son of artist Antionette Simmons Hodges.