Jean-Michel Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York.

His father was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and his mother was of Puerto Rican descent.

Basquiat first achieved fame as part of SAMO, an informal graffiti duo who wrote in the Lower East Side in the late 1970s.

Basquiat's art focused on dichotomies like wealth vs poverty, integration vs segregation, and inner vs outer experience.

This 1982 painting by Basquiat ("Untitled") set a record high for any American artist, selling for $110.5 million.

Basquiat's works challenged power structures and systems of racism that are still being challenged today.

In appreciation of a true artist, Happy Latinx Heritage Month!