I feel an abundance of gratitude after completing my Nipsey Hussle tribute drawing. I was inspired to do this drawing after becoming aware of Nipsey’s story and legacy. As a featured visual artist at the Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio I chose to showcase my Nipsey Hussle and Malcolm X drawings at their 10th anniversary celebration of Backstage At The Lincoln. I posted my drawing of Nipsey to my Instagram account on the morning of the event, November 21, 2019. The next day I was graced with over 1300 likes and growing on this social media platform. I really appreciate the love that the Nipsey Hussle community of followers, friends and family have shown me. They have taken the time to like my drawing, share it, and encourage others to re-post etc, in a way that shows that the “Marathon Continues.”
February 26, 2012 is the day 17 year old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. Hearing this news inspired me to want to do something as an artist. Days afterward I had created a hand drawing of Trayvon Martin with an inscription on the bottom saying “We Are Trayvon Martin” (Later I would update the image by digitally adding “One Love” to the top of the image and creating a crowd of smaller Trayvons standing behind the main image). Living in Ohio, now the question was, how do I get it to the people in Florida who were mourning over his loss and or fighting for justice for Trayvon Martin. Luckily for me, my Ace, my Sands, my brother in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Howard Pernell, happened to live in Florida and not far from Ground Zero where the initial protest began. I sent him a digital scan of my One Love Trayvon Martin drawing and he printed off a 1000 copies that were handed to protestors fighting for justice for Trayvon. We did not charge the people for these copies but did receive a little under $200 in donations in which I shared with my Ace and his crew for the hard ground work they put in making sure people had access to the prints if they wanted one. I was proud to learn that my art contribution was first on the scene and many people expressed gratefulness and were eager for a symbol they could protest with as many protesters already toted skittles and iced tea. Adding to this joy was a phone call I got from Howard who informed me that my image made the news in Florida and was being used by an elder who was protesting for justice for Trayvon Martin.
In this post are attached some of the photos that were taken in Florida where the initial protest for Trayvon Martin began.
