Just wanted to share a painting done by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, of Oscar Grant. This is what Fazlalizadeh had to say about the piece, and about Grant, in general:
“This painting is my reaction to the Johannes Mehrsele, a former BART officer, verdict and sentencing in the case of him fatally shooting Oscar Grant, an unarmed young black man. This incident happened in Oakland, CA almost two years ago. Grant, who was 22 years old, was lying face down on the ground when Mehrsele shot him in the back after supposedly mistaking his gun for his Taser. This event was captured by cell phone camera by many witnesses. It was a shocking killing that infuriated many. And the conviction of Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter, the best he could have gotten outside of aquittal, left even more people angry.
My painting is a portrait of a young black man with a shooting range target painted onto his torso. It is to express the casual and perpetual killing of black men. It is to express the way that black men are profiled as intimidating, criminal beings who are to be feared, and justifiably hurt. The Mehrsele case is an example of this.”
Thanks for sharing this!!