Ann Graves Tanksley: A Voice Rooted in Zora Neale Hurston’s Legacy Ann Graves Tanksley, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1934, is an American artist whose work stands as a powerful testament to the richness of Black life and culture. Her journey through art began not with formal instruction, but with a simple act of connection – a set of crayons offered by a kindergarten teacher on her first day of school. This early spark ignited a lifelong passion, leading her to pursue degrees in Fine Arts from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and ultimately shaping a…