Two years before the tragic death of George Floyd in 2020, I was asked by Sugarcane Magazine to interview about the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM.) I was hesitant at first as I did not want to attach my art solely to BLM.
Then I recalled the 1970’s.
There was very little Black art in the world-- a reality that pushed me to co-found The City Museum of Washington, DC, where I was living at the time.
The museum became the source of Black historical art, artifacts and legacies of the city, as created and crafted by the city’s citizens---people who were historically and predominately Black.
Then when I began my painting career as a Black Artist, I was dedicated to creating and advancing a true presence of Black art through my work.
All of those memories shaped my response to Sugarcane.
I would agree to an interview but on a different topic---one I created--- Black Art Matters.
(Link: https://bit.ly/LeRoiBlackArtMatters.)
One of the paintings from my career dedicated to that ideal is included the Black Lives Matter Segment of LEROI: Living in Color. I painted it in 2019 after randomly coming across a black bottle. As I examined the bottle, I envisioned the form of a headless, armless, Black person’s body.
That vision inspired me to create the image on canvas. I added orange bands around the neck and body as expressions of the bondage and imprisonment suffered by Black people throughout history. I then surrounded the Black person with witnesses sharing in the pain that is portrayed.
My dedication to Black art, this painting, and all the art in this series, serve as meaningful reminders of the Black Lives Matter message--- and equally important---the Black Art Matters message that I have brought to the world through my art and my life.
LEROI: Living in Color Exhibition includes the work of students from Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT,) Buffalo Public Schools (BPS,) Just Buffalo Literary Center (JBLC,) and Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. The exhibition will be on view at the Burchfield Penney Art Center through March 26, 2023, presented by M&T Bank, with additional support from organizations and individuals throughout the Western New York community.