Black Jesus
At one point I had a great opportunity of seeing life from the other side...that is to say as a minority.
I spent three years living in an area that was approximately 95% African American, 4% South Asian and Hispanic, and 1% everything else.
I was perhaps one of only a dozen white men I saw in that area...and half of them didn't live in the area ( they only operated businesses, and went home to their ' safe ' communities when they closed up shop for the day ).
This gave me an opportunity to learn about another culture and discover if all the steriotypical nonsense was true...as well as ply my trade in a new way.
During these three years I acted as the illustrator for a small silk-screen outfit that was located in what they affectionately called ' hell's door '...there were your typical assortment of homeless, gangs, dealers...all within a block of where I worked...as I had no car I would have to walk through them to get to where I was going every day.
At first it was quite un-nerving...having been brought up in Canada and having been subjected to a negative view of poor black areas through American movies...naturally, I expected the worst...especially walking home at night.
But...after a while...I realized most of what I expected was just American hype.
Aside from the time we were broken into, and a few threats by gangs, no one bothered me and I had no problems.
In fact...it was very apparent that there was a very strong and vibrant community there that, for the most part, welcomed me with open arms.
Through the silk-screen shop I produced work specifically geared to the African American market...the shop was run by two African Americans of which one was a member of APA ( Alpha Phi Alpha )...the fraternity of which Martin Luthur King Jr. was a member ( Morehouse University in Atlanta ).
This work shown was one of many versions of an African American Jesus I designed for that market.
posted by Security News Media @ 4:30 AM
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