Embedded within the lines, colors and shape of every map lies a story. Within every state in our union lies a history. Behind every face is a life. While drawing this portrait of Emmett Till, I was struck by the hopeful spark in his eyes. After his shocking murder in Mississippi, Emmett’s mother had the courage to show him to the world in a drastically different light. In exposing what racial violence really looks like, she helped propel the US civil rights movement light years forward.
W.E.B. Dubois
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he’d grow up to become a founding father of the civil rights movement. W.E.B. Dubois
Signed prints of this portrait are available here!