Drawing, Randy Alexander Gallery Chicago 2017
June 2016: Joe Biden speaks out publicly in support of a rape victim,
days later the Pulse massacre unfolded.
I was 16 and driving, listening to the song I Like Fucking, by Bikini Kill.
We could not be silent
So we screamed.
It was a violent time to be a woman to be queer.
Still is,
more violent for others.
Starting from a newspaper, getting to an essay and then to a conversation to a memory. The handwritten essay was used by my friend Mashaun Hendricks to lead a restorative justice training with police and the residents of North Lawndale after a Guardian article 2016 exposed the story of Chicago Police torture in, what is now referred to as, a ‘black site.’ The site is housed in a building located across the street from where Hendricks and I worked together.
Teardrops to mourn the loss of those forgotten, remembering their story.
Each teardrop represents a loved one to the community lost.