Assessed value of household and kitchen furniture owned by Georgia Negroes

This uniquely shaped bar graph is one of the many charts created by W. E. B. Du Bois for  the Negro Exhibit of the American Section at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.

Visually, the piece is striking: Bright, bold colors immediately catch the viewers attention, and a twisting spiral of data holds this attention. However, as an actual presentation of data, the graph is hard to read because of its shape; it's hard to actually determine how the lengths of the lines compare to each other because of how they have been warped.

However, the most important function of this piece was not to make its data easily understandable. Instead, Du Bois intended for the charts he created for the Paris Exposition to not only be charts, but artworks in their own right. In doing so, he was able to capture the fleeting attention of an American public that had long ignored African Americans. This exhibition shifted the American public's attitude in that regard, proving to them that African Americans could be and were successful members of society.