In the immediate aftermath of the George Floyd murder, I was upset and had to find a way to channel my rage and sorrow into my artwork... This was the first piece I created. I kept thinking about how long this killing took. This was not some split-second decision.
The time. Eight Minutes and Forty Six Seconds. That is an eternity.
If there was any more relevant example that to some, Black Lives Do Not Matter... this was it. I never wanted to watch the video... but I had to... over and over again to listen to what was actually happening. To see what was actually happening. This is not a complete transcript... but the truth of what happened is here.
This piece is called "Depraved Indifference: The Murder of George Floyd."
It's not easy to watch the video... or look at this artwork. I had to, while fighting back tears while creating it. We all need to face the reality that this represents... and the reality that so many will never see because some crime was not filmed. This was not an isolated incident. This has happened before. White people need to acknowledge that this is REAL. We know that most police do not behave like this... but far too many do. Far too many stand around and watch or enable this kind of behavior. We need those chosen to protect and serve to carry out their jobs. That means calling out bad cops.
We've all turned away far too long. It's 2020. This has happened across the entire history of this country. Every year. Something MUST change. Otherwise we'll be here again next year… next month… next week... tomorrow… with the same tragedies occurring.
We need to face this and be open to new solutions. We need communities, the police, and elected officials to work together to fix this obvious problem. We need to move past Trump and his racist administration and do this ourselves.
I want to create more positive artwork... but it's also important to document the reality, as well.
We need to channel our rage and sorrow into positive change. Things MUST change. They must change now.