Kara Walker was born in Stockton, California in 1969. Walker's father was an artist as well as an art professor at the University of the Pacific and, Kara's mother was an administrative assistant. The occupations of both her parents allowed for Kara Walker to have a comfortable middle- class life. If her middle class background allowed for her to have a normal and common childhood, what prompted her to take up a disturbing and unconventional art form? Moving to the south as a teen in the early 80's to Atlanta, Georgia exposed Walker to racist institutions and attitudes that still plagued many Blacks over the south. The Atlanta College of Art is where Walker completed her bachelors in Fine Arts and then at the Rhode Island School of Design is where Walker received her masters in Fine Arts.
Walker reveals that early in her career as an artist she was a painter however, she switched to silhouetting as her main medium because it was more conducive to the style of work she was trying to create. The figures cut out and projected on a wall were placed together to tell the stories of the southern Black life, primarily during the Antebellum Period. The horrors of slavery, sex, racism, and the brutality that the Black body had to endure can be explored when experiencing her exhibits. Walker's art was discovered and gained momentum at the Drawing Center in New York, titled, Gone, a Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of One Negress and her Heart. The figures obviously depict slave masters and slaves, however the same stereotypes that help one identify what the caricatures, also aid what stereotypes white people have of slavery and the suffering of Black bodies. 
Another body of work that is more contemporary and relevant to today’s history with racism is the Hurricane Katrina inspired piece, After the Deluge. This silhouette exhibit helps the viewer to understand that event was catastrophic and that Blacks were highly impacted. The putrid living conditions for Blacks during and after Katrina could be compared to the open disregard society has shown, regarding the humanity and dignity of Black people and their bodies.
Walker has released many pieces and has become a renown artist internationally
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