AMERICAN GIRL
(Self Portrait)
48" x 60" x 1.5"
Mixed Media

“Well, she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die tryin'
She had one little promise
She was gonna keep”

Tom Petty’s lyrics resonate with me. As my rights were being ripped away, I left the rural South for the East Coast for a better life and more opportunity. A flag, whose colors run in the streets every single day and has for decades now due to cruel White Nationalism, remains in the background.