This poster is for youth to use in walkouts around gun violence (police are a huge part of that) and more; commissioned by Mobilize the Immigrant Vote andĀ YVoteCA.
MIV organizes with Black, Latinx, and Asian folks across California to get elders, adults, and their grand children involved in local, city, and state elections to fight back against racist policies. I had the pleasure of being an artist in residence with MIV creating portraits of members and illustrating scenes to help non Black POC understand African American migration in the US. YVote CA is a group also organizing from northern, southern, and central California. Specifically, millennial voters since they are 1/3 of the population and the nation’s most diverse population. Please follow both to learn moreĀ and support.
Voting: I understand many men and boys my age don’t give a #$%^ about voting. You have reason to be skeptical because we are dealing with an imperialist, capitalist, sexist, homophobic, and racist government (multinational corporations). I get it. But, after spending time with young men and women I can say that there is a lot to learn about laws & policies affecting your block, neighborhood, city, and state. If you’re not going to promote voting, cool. But please support folks in grassroots or community organizations who are “organizing” because talking shit is not enough. Thank you to those men who are already doing this.
And for the record I believe any reform on gun violence must include disarming the police across the US. I believe women & youth must be at the forefront of the conversation and their opinions treated with respect.
Dig this? Check out some portraits painted for Mobilize the Immigrant Vote
Here are some portraits I painted for “Mobilize the Immigrant vote”. These portraits were commissioned for voting campaigns online and in print to educate people about propositions to vote for or against. The folks in these portraits are working activists and/or parents or kids of activists who not only want to share their experience but want to win more protection, equal rights, and justice for their families and loved ones. And with the current election results you can understand why.
To see the guides themselves or to learn more about MIV, please go to:Ā http://www.mivcalifornia.org/
These are some of the art pieces I did for the art & story lessons:
Benson, 21, Oakland, Mobilize the Immigrant vote
Benson, 21, Oakland, Mobilize the Immigrant vote