by Malcolm Ford
A powerful scene yet one of many in Steve Mumford’s collection of drawings and paintings of his day to day in New York. With the BLM movement in full swing and all of the demonstrations going on this was obviously a great opportunity for him as well as helping spread awareness through his art.
The empty space of the crowd with only a few heads poking out and the only one given much detail being the one with a microphone, speaks volumes to how many people of color felt, feel and are feeling when police reform doesn’t change.
A great way to describe it is like the voice inside your head, you can’t make it any louder however hard you try or at least that’s what it feels like when no amount of protest, demonstrations, phone calls or hugs feel like enough and you’re left there to fight an insurmountable, inconceivable, unrepeatable fight.
BLM Protestor Shouts at Cops and Back the Blue Demonstrators, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY, Jul. 12, 2020, 2020, pencil on paper, 11 × 15.5 inches. https://bombmagazine.org/discipline/art/
GREENSBORO COLLEGE ART COLUMN 