We are in the early stages (Feb., 2025) of a government campaign to minimize the legacy of Black Americans in the United States.

As a Black creative, there is an urgency to create work that counteracts these efforts. The Iconograph series is centered on individuals that have contributed to the struggle for equality in this country, framed in the context of their resistance to the status quo.

The abstract illustrations are drawings overlaid with a digital collage of photographs (from my Archival Recordings project) 0f locations that are associated with each subject. The Martin Luther King, Jr. collage is comprised of photographs I have taken on MLK Blvd. in South Los Angeles over the past decade. The Malcolm X artwork is made up of photographs of Harlem and the Biddy Mason piece features urban landscape photographs of Los Angeles from my archive.

We live in a social climate that is hostile to the concept of diversity. I feel a certain responsibility as an artist and designer to prioritize creating work that helps to preserve the legacy many are determined to erase. Art and Design are uniquely suited to spreading information and inspiring action. Both are also key elements to any cultural movement. Get out there, keep making shit, stay creative, and we'll be alright.

The death of corporate DEI campaigns do not represent the death of a movement, just a return to it's street level roots.