Let 'em Play

24x36

Oil on canvas

includes certificate of authenticity

This piece is symbolic of the anxiety Black parents experience raising Black children, especially boys. Unfortunately, racism makes it difficult for Black children to fully experience childhood. 

I remember the tightness in my chest while watching the 2013 George Zimmerman trial and the heartbreak I felt when he was found "not guilty" of the Murder of

Trayvon Martin. I recall a woman holding a sign outside the courthouse which read "why don't our kids matter?" When then President Barack Obama first heard the news of Trayvon's death he said, "this could have been my son, "and all of Black America knew exactly what he meant.

A couple of years later while on family vacation I stood at the altar of the Ebenezer church in Atlanta Georgia, home church of Dr. Martin Luther King, when I received a notification on my phone. The headline read "Officer involved in fatal shooting of Tamir Rice will not face criminal charges.” How ironic. How infuriating.

It's tragedies like these that have shaped my lens as a parent. I keep my son closer than necessary; I allow him to explore and be free- but not too free. I know he's just a kid, but so were they.