Historical Lineage
Educational Historical Lineage
To draw a linear timeline through my education is about asdifficult as it is to draw a linear timeline of the history of Black Americans. Growing up Black in an all-white suburb likeGrosse Pointe Park was beyond difficult. As a black person I was ostracized from both my school and my community becauseof the color of my skin. It is for thatreason I am focusing my historical lineage on the aspects of my education andupbringing that I used to teach MYSELF about the way the world is.
For this piece I began with an hour long recorded sessionwith my mother about my educational past. We discussed my life from my conception by rape until my graduation fromhigh school. For the visual aspect ofthis piece I have created a collage with both illustrations and pastphotographs that allowed me to tell my story. As I was creating the piece, I listened to the audio recording of mymother telling my life story and used it to inform both the non-linear storytelling aspect of the piece and the words and imagery used to form it.
For this piece I leftformalistic qualities to the wayside in order to better illustrate the “school project”implication of the medium I chose. Byusing crayons, markers, and a posterboard traditionally used for grade school scienceprojects, I illustrate the pain, struggle, and eventual conquering of my traumaticeducational past. This piece is intendedto be viewed while listening to the audio recording of my mother talking abouther adventures in what we like to call “storming the school”. While it is incomplete, this work highlightsmy mother as my lead teacher. As a childof rape and the only black member in my family, my mother was my ultimatedefender. She lead the way for me tobecome comfortable in my skin, love my ancestry, and celebrate my culture asboth a Black and Irish man. Without her,my greatest teacher, I would not be alive to create this piece.
