The GraduateS (Original Oil on Canvas, Unframed, 72" x 40")

The GraduateS

The GraduateS is a depiction of the African American experience, starting from the Kings and Queens of Africa to the present-day struggles of America. The capital S on the End of GraduateS is enlarged to show the inclusion and gratitude of all who fought and died to make graduating a possibility for African Americans. Their sacrifices have left an eternal fingerprint on the success of all graduates. Notice the fingerprints on the diploma at the bottom center. The blue curtain shows the following pictorial view of history, 1619-2019:

The King and Queen of Africa; 1619 - the first enslaved Africans were taken to North America; Harriet Tubman “Moses” - a soldier leading slaves to freedom; 3/5 Compromise which stated that three out of five slaves would be included in the population count in order to increase the population, which in turn increased the power to have more legislatures in the South than in the North, giving the South more power in the House of Representatives to dictate law; Martin Luther King Junior led the civil rights movement; Emmett Till, 14 year old brutally murdered by racist white men who accused him of whistling at a White woman; 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, killed 4 little Black girls; Rosa Parks, sitting for justice; Tommy Smith, John Carlos - during the awards ceremony of the 1968 Olympics, raised their gloved fist during the Star-Spangled Banner. The demonstration is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympics; Strange fruit (lynching); Bloody Sunday, Edmund Pettis Bridge, Selma AL; Columbine shooting; President #43, George W Bush; Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans; President #44 Barack Obama, Obamacare; Sandy Hook shooting; Charleston, S.C. Shooting; Black Lives Matter movement, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Gardner….; Unjust laws “Stand your Ground”, “Stop and Frisk”, President #45, Donald Trump; Parkland shooting; Me too Movement; Immigrant children taken from their parents; Media attack. Fake news; Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico; Russian election interference; African American, Rachel Meghan Markle becomes Duchess of Sussex, etc.

All graduates have a responsibility to remember the sacrifices and pain of our ancestors so that their struggle is not in vain. I celebrate our graduates from Kindergarten to Postgraduate school, as well as GED, Cosmetology, Barber School, etc., and I humbly honor those who paved the way with their lives.

 “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandella

The Original, 72" x 40" oil on canvas is available for purchase.  If you're interested in the original, message Hodges Fine Art by clicking "contact" above to leave a message.