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This body of work seeks to explore some of the issues that plague the black community with the intention of confronting the problems head on as opposed to sweeping them under the rug. By use of striking and vibrant colors, I aim to command the attention of those who pass by, as means of emphasizing the importance of unresolved issues while commanding the attention these issues deserve. These artworks are designed in a way to allow the viewer develop a better understanding of the various issues that persist within the black community, and in turn allow the viewer to contemplate what to do going forward.
"We cannot think of uniting with others until we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves"
- Malcolm X
Look Within (2021)
Look Within
The first thing we must do as a people to solve the issues within our community is to take an in depth look within ourselves. Only then can we delve deeper and hope to work on becoming more united among each other.
18" x 24", Acrylic on canvas.
The Key (2021)
The Key
Often times when it comes to relationships and how we treat one another, we tend to perpetuate double standards and false ideas about each other that keep us chained down. We allow certain ideals and mentalities to cloud our judgement and prevent ourselves from actually understanding the character of an individual. We’re so focused on what we think a person is like that we tend to ignore who they truly are. If we are truly equal we must view each other as equals and treat each other as equals. No one’s pedestal is higher than the other, as we’ve often been led to believe. Love and respect for one another is how we as a people can start ridding ourselves of mentalities that strive to keep us apart. That’s the key.
22" x 28", Acrylic on canvas.
Passport to the Future (2021)
Passport to the Future
Malcolm X once said that “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” He understood how instrumental and important it is for us as black people to be educated and to receive education to highest degree possible. And one of the greatest things about education is that it has the potential to bring brilliant minds together so that we can improve upon the world we live in. However, what I feel holds us back as a people is when we start having endless debates about where a black individual should receive their education (the never ending HBCU vs. PWI debate). That debate doesn’t help advance us as a people because I feel we tend to be more worried about where the individual received their education and not what they do with their education. It doesn’t matter what institution you choose to go to, because if you let that educational experience go to waste by not applying what you learned to better mankind and society around you, then it will have been a wasted effort nonetheless. If education is the passport to the future, then it shouldn’t matter where the journey starts. Because in the end, we all should be heading towards the same collective goal.
24" x 30", Acrylic on canvas.
Drowning in Silence (2021)
Drowning in Silence
We as black people talk about a various aspects of society that should be improved and taken care of. But of all the important things in our own lives, our mental health is not given as much attention as it should. We’ve been conditioned to “push through” and “be strong” in the hopes that it our problems just won’t affect us anymore. It’s become such a taboo topic in our community to where if we actually bring up the idea of mental health awareness, we are never fully given the support we should have. When we sideline our mental health, it doesn’t go away. And choosing to remain silent about it doesn’t make it disappear. People in our community suffer from depression, anxiety, and suicide rates among our community should be a wake up call to everyone. Not talking about mental health doesn’t solve the problem. Instead it just leaves us drowning in silence.
24" x 30", Acrylic on canvas.
Blackness Confirmed (2021)
Blackness Confirmed
How does one define blackness? Is it based off how they act? Their personality? Their interests? It seems as if these factors are what determines a person’s blackness based off the mindset of a decent amount of black people. Whenever a black person acts in a way that doesn’t reinforce existing stereotypes, they are labeled as either “not black enough” or “acting white.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. And it doesn’t make sense as to why we try to force other people to prove their blackness. Black people are not a monolith, and as such, there are going to be diverse personalities, interests, and ideals across all black people. Black people exist in many different forms, and the entertainment industry has shown how different we can be. Whether they be fictional characters or real life individuals, they are all different and yet still share a common denominator: They’re all undeniably black.
30" x 40", Acrylic on canvas.
Family Affair (2021)
Family Affair
The black family is an important aspect of the black community. So much of how a black family operates contributes to the future of the black community. And in knowing that, we as a community also have to recognize the flaws within our own family dynamics. Some parenting techniques from older generations may be out of date and no one seems willing to admit it. Black children may have numerous siblings, but they might have no genuine bond among each other. Expressions of emotions are sometimes viewed as signs of disrespect, leading to the suppressions of their true feelings. What may appear on the surface as a positive example of a nuclear black family unit might actually be falsehood with flaws that are detrimental to all who are involved. The home should be a place of peace and stability, not the source of a perpetual cycle trauma and unresolved issues.
22" x 28", Acrylic on canvas.
The Root of Self-Sabotage
& Division (2021)
The Root of Self-Sabotage & Division
Something that black people have had to deal with for too long has been colorism and its impact over the black community as a whole. An offshoot of racism & white supremacy that causes internal conflict among us, all black people feel its effects. Those with darker skin tones are often treated more harshly and sometimes viewed as less desirable than those with lighter skin tones. Those with lighter skin tones are often ostracized for not being seen as “black enough” and struggle being accepted among those with darker skin tones. This by no means covers all the effects colorism has on the black community, as it is such a complex issue that has been ingrained into everyday life with some of us never realizing it until it has been pointed out to us. Black people come in many different skin tones and so it is important to understand that one’s skin tone does should not define who they truly are and how they are perceived by others. Understanding the role we play in perpetuating colorism is the best way to learn how to eventually rid our community of it, because it has a chokehold on all of us.
30" x 40", Acrylic on canvas.
Eye to Eye
Eye to Eye (2022)
When we take the time to actually confront the issues that cause us strife, what is our next move? After we’ve acknowledged the problems that are liable to cause division among us, what steps will we take to ensure we never have to deal with them again? Once our eyes are opened to everything in front of us, what will come next? What will happen to us once we are able to see things eye to eye?
24" x 48", Acrylic on canvas.
Working Artist Group Exhibition, 2022.
Inspiring | Unapologetic | Black
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