The Black Fist below are based on the history and the experience of the PEOPLE. Every piece is copyrighted under the Black Fist Series©® franchise. For merch, click here.
Black Fist Series: The Perception
HUEY
18 x 24
Acrylic, fabric, hair on canvas
Huey was the very first piece for the Black Fist Series. Its one of those paintings that show many things with subliminal messages. The painting shows pain, strength, and courage. The black panthers were looked down upon and America seen them as a threat. They did multiple things for their community and it went unnoticed.
The black panther party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 and ended 1982.
MotherEarth
7.5 x 24
Acrylic, spray paint, fabric, hair, gold bracelets, jewels on skateboard
Watching the TV show Captain Planet, Kwame stood out. He also had the coolest ring of them all which was 'Earth'. Everything started in Africa and majority of our natural resources come from there as well.
The broken skateboard is a representation of my childhood as well, I tried skateboarding as a kid and it was something I was not so good at. I also feel as if society and humanity is breaking/destroying Mother Earth.
Just Listen!
7.5 x 23.5
Acrylic, fabric, hair on skateboard
I use to watch a show called 'Rugrats' on a network called ‘Nickelodeon’ and the show gave me the inspiration to do this piece. Just like the majority of these pieces that are based around my childhood, Suzie was the only black/Afro American character on the show. She stood out the most to me with her sassiness, loud, and confident behavior. The title 'Just Listen' is dedicated to all of the kids in school that were quiet and stayed to themselves. You never know how your conversation would be with someone if you just listen to them. Listen for understanding not to just respond.
We Don’t Bluff!
16 x 20
Acrylic, fabric, hair on canvas
'We don’t bluff' is a pure representation of my city, mane. This is the second piece I did referencing the TV show 'Doug'. Being that we are from the bluff and the the show was based on a city called 'The Bluff' I decided to connect the two. I witnessed things in the show like small trials and tribulations of a teenager and trying to fit into society. Patti Mayonnaise stood out most to me because she was that pretty brown skin girl with the short blonde hair that everyone was crushing on, and her voice was always heard.
Are you with me?
7.5 x 23.5
Acrylic, fabric on skateboard
This piece showed friendship and loyalty no matter your skin complexion. It was inspired by the TV show 'Doug'. Doug, the main character, had a best friend named Skeeter and he was always down. He was his right hand man through thick and thin no matter what. And of course everyone knew Skeeter was black/Afro American.
Growing up I was friends with kids of many different races. Only because I felt as if I didn’t fit in with the norm.
Melanin Gold
16 x 20
Acrylic on canvas
Black in general. I was reading up on a couple of things and found out about natural sunblock which is melanin. Melanin is a dark brown to black pigment occurring in the hair, skin, and iris of the eye in people and animals. It is responsible for tanning of skin exposed to sunlight. Melanin itself, on a philosophical plane, is a black/chemical biological door through which the life force of African spirituality passes in moving from the spirit to the material realm. Foods that help increase melanin production are nuts, legumes, almonds, peanuts, dried beans, dark leafy green vegetables, avocados, bananas, chocolate, and whole-grain.
Fince
7.5 x 16
Acrylic, fabric, hair, wire on skateboard
I watched a show growing up called 'Recess' and there was a character named 'Vince' that was obviously the only black/Afro American kid on the show. He did the stereotypical things that all black kids did while growing up, played sports. And yes he was damn good at all of them.
My dad wanted me to play basketball and he seemed as if it was the only ticket to success or to necessarily make it in life. I wasn't interested in sports at all, and til this day I'm still not interested in any sports. I'm an artist at heart. Fince is spelled like this purposely. The fence is a representation of society trying to keep black men/boys incarcerated, hence the wiring I used for the fence.
ReBloodicans & DemoCrips
Acrylic, fabric on canvas
DemoCrips
16 x 20
Acrylic, fabric on canvas
Inspired by a political aspect and propaganda in the black/Afro American community. I feel as if politics are gangs. They just go back and forth just to get a seat in the White House to do nothing for this country.
And Actually gang members stood together to stand against police brutality.
ReBloodicans & DemoCrips were inspired by 'Hood Politics' on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
Real Heroes
24.5 x 9
Acrylic on canvas
From the year 2000 to 2018, these particular comic book characters were on the map cinematically. With Black Panther appearing in Captain America: Civil War, Luke Cage's modern day Netflix series, Cyborg being in the new Justice League movie, and Storm being the most powerful X-men there is; I feel as if these are the real heroes. They have great and inspiring back stories that are reflecting similar issues in today's society.
No more strings
30 x 25
Acrylic, fabric and gold string on canvas
I feel as if every president is a puppet. I got the chance to live and tell people we had a black president in the White House. It’s a great thing to see, but in reality he still push the button to kill people or a person.
What about Ghana?
This piece was inspired by the flood in Ghana that no one said anything about or acknowledged.
16 x 20
Acrylic, fabric, leather on canvas
Meaning of the flag and colors:
The national flag of Ghana was designed and adopted in 1957 and was flown until 1962, and then reinstated in 1966. It consists of the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, in horizontal stripes, with a black five-pointed star in the center of the gold stripe. The Ghanaian flag was the second African flag after the flag of the Ethiopian Empire to feature these colours. The flag's design influenced that of the flag of Guinea-Bissau (1973). It was designed by Theodosia Okoh.
The red represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence from Great Britain, the gold represents the mineral wealth of the country, the green symbolizes the country's rich forests and natural wealth, and the black star is the symbol of African emancipation.[1] The black star was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey that operated from 1919 to 1922.[2] It is where the Ghana national football team draw their nickname, the Black Stars, from.
Birth of a Nation
16 x 20
Acrylic, spray paint, bible pages on canvas
I felt something while thinking and creating this piece. This piece was inspired by the movie 'Birth of a Nation' by Nate Parker. The movie is a must see. Over the years I started to grow old of slave movies and stories, only because that's not where history starts. But this! This movie was amazing and it inspired the hell out me to do this piece. I used real bible pages to give the audience a real and in depth feel of how they used to oppress blacks/Afro Americans. I ripped out majority of the pages that were rewritten throughout history and utilized them.
Yo, Gerald!
16 x 20
Acrylic, fabric, hair on canvas
I loved the fact that Gerald was that cool token black kid on the show. He was also best friends with the main character, Arnold. 'Hey, Arnold’ showed real life situations. The funny thing is that I didn't realize it until now. The show had a lot of subliminal messages that went right over our heads, but even as a kid we could relate to a few of the trials and tribulations they faced on each episode of the show.
Black Fist Series: The Realization
Proud
24 x 36
Acrylic, fabric and hair on canvas
Inspired by Brazilian politician, feminist, and human activist Marielle Franco. Marielle was assassinated March 14th, 2018 in Rio shortly after leaving a gathering of young black activists. Her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, was also killed.
Long before being elected to Rio’s city council in 2016, Marielle was widely known as a tireless and fearless advocate for the rights of Afro-Brazilians, LGBT persons, women and low income communities. A gay black woman born and raised in one of Rio’s poorest neighborhoods, she campaigned relentlessly against spiraling police violence in the city’s favelas.
Marielle’s activism earned her many powerful enemies. She forcefully challenged the impunity surrounding extrajudicial killings of Black youth by security forces and, two days before her killing, had denounced the police’s role in the killing of a young black man named Matheus Melo. She was a leading critic of the military intervention in Rio de Janeiro and was the head of a city commission tasked with monitoring the intervention.
Graduation
24 x 30
Acrylic, fabric, string, and paper on canvas
Inspired by the documentary called ‘Tell Them We Are Rising: The story of historically black colleges and universities’ by Stanley Nelson.
“Tell Them We Are Rising is a 90-minute documentary that examines the impact HBCUs have had on American history, from the earliest attempts at black education to today’s campuses.” -The Root
“…the teaching of slaves to read and write has a tendency to excite dissatisfaction in their minds…” -Unknown
“…the founding of colleges educating colored people is unwarrantable, dangerous, interference…southern states out to be discouraged…” -Mayor of New Haven Connecticut
Heal or Kneel
30 x 40
Acrylic, fabric and hair on canvas
One player kneeling during the national anthem made so much noise in America. Athletes have voices, too. A much bigger voice and platform for the people. Sports are not more important than a life taken by police or white supremacy. Are you willing to heal your mind from the American brainwashing? Are you ready to sacrifice something?
L' union fait la force(Unity makes Strength)
24 x 36
Acrylic and fabric on canvas
Inspired by Haitian general and leader of the Haitian revolution, François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture and also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda. He emancipated the slaves and negotiated for the French colony on Hispaniola, Saint-Domingue (later Haiti), to be governed, briefly, by Black former slaves as a French protectorate.
When a sudden slave revolt began in the northern province (August 1791) and soon spread to encompass thousands of slaves across the colony, Toussaint was at first uncommitted. After hesitating a few weeks, he helped his former master escape and then joined the Black forces who were burning plantations and killing many Europeans and mulattoes. Collecting an army of his own, Toussaint trained his followers in the tactics of guerrilla warfare. By 1795 Toussaint Louverture was widely renowned. He was adored by Blacks and appreciated by most Europeans and mulattoes, for he did much to restore the economy.
KOD
40 x 16
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
Inspired by one of my best friends’ son who has autism. Its also inspired by the widespread administration of vaccinations, uncertain health diagnoses and mental deterioration of the black child in America. The idea sparked when I heard rapper/hip hop artist J. Cole’s’ album ‘K.O.D.’ where he addresses similar issues but in a verbal context.
RIOT
48 x 36
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
In 2020 we saw a massive public outcry against the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. This piece is to commemorate the grand jury decision in Breonna Taylor’s case. The imagery in this piece recalls various protest, riots, and public outrage at the loss of Black and minority lives at the hands of law enforcement. RIOT was referenced from a photo taken by Algerina Perna of the 2015 Baltimore riots sparked by the death of Freddie Gray. The man in the gas mask is Greg Butler, who was arrested and faced twenty-five to life for puncturing a hole in a fire hose during the riots. Local charges were dropped by the state and he was later prosecuted federally.
GREED/Capitalism
24 x 30
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
Cash rules everything and everyone around me!! It literally does. The greed of having the wealth and power to gain private ownership from the means of production and trading goods for profit, no matter how many lives are at stake, has brainwashed us all into a system controlled by a family of higher stature. This country is built off of capitalism and white supremacy and we all fight, kill, lie, steal and sacrifice our lives for the almighty dollar. What people do not know is that the so-called Founding Fathers and King George were working hand-n-hand to bring the people of America to their knees, to install a Central Government over them and to bind them to a debt that could not be paid. We had less than 1 trillion dollars of national debt in 1980. The problem is that we have one of the worst monetary systems ever devised–a central bank that operates independently of our government, which, with other private banks, creates all of our money with a parallel amount of interest–bearing debt. That's why we can never get out of debt. And that's why a deep depression is a certainty, for most of our citizens, whether caused suddenly in a severe economic crash, or gradually through continued relentless inflation.
In the NILE/In denial
40 x 16
Acrylic on canvas
This double entendre focuses on the certainty of human life and the subconscious mind. Over the years water has played a large component to the black life. Good and bad. In 1803 one of the largest mass suicides of enslaved people took place when Igbo captives from what is now Nigeria were taken to the Georgia coast. The chained slaves were packed under deck of a coastal vessel, the York, which would take them to St. Simons. During the voyage, approximately 75 Igbo slaves rose in rebellion, took control of the ship, drowned their captors, and in the process caused the grounding of the ship in Dunbar Creek. The sequence of events that occurred next remains unclear. It is known only that the Igbo marched ashore, singing, led by their high chief. Then at his direction, they walked into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek, committing mass suicide. Because they knew that death was better than bondage.
The transatlantic slave trade was such an impact that the sharks still swim along that path because of the slaves that were thrown overboard. And let's also not forget the all black towns drown and made into man made lakes in the United States.