Saturday, May 04, 2024

Rallying Around Which Specter?

“That is the archaeology I am unearthing: The specter of police violence and state control over the bodies of young Black and Brown people all over the world.” 
—Kehinde Wiley
Mr. Wiley is the artist for President Obama’s official portrait. I’ve never seen as many blacks at the MFAH as were present the day the Lovely Wife and I went to view that portrait when it was on exhibition. And only then did I realize that, and how sad it was. Not because they didn’t come more often; but because they didn’t see a reason to.*

But I quote Mr. Wiley because Texas, and other states, have proudly outlawed “DEI” from public schools and agencies. And because of the fear of what an authoritarian Trump re-elected to the Presidency would mean. And because I remember Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle watching the white characters freak out over Trump’s election in the SNL opener in November if 2016, as they finally came face to face with the reality Rock and Chappelle had grown up with.

What are we fighting for, and who are we fighting?


*The quote is from an announcement of a new exhibit of Mr. Wiley’s work. I’m not casting shade on the MFAH. But the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow has hardly started to fade.

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