cheaplez:‘It Could Have Been Me’: The 1983 Death Of A NYC Graffiti Artist“It c
cheaplez: ‘It Could Have Been Me’: The 1983 Death Of A NYC Graffiti Artist “It could have been me. It could have been me.” These were the words uttered by painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was deeply shaken after he heard the story of a black graffiti artist who was beaten to death by New York City police. Seeing his own life reflected in the death of a fellow artist, Basquiat went on to create Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart), not only to commemorate the young man’s death, but also to challenge the state-sanctioned brutality that people of color could face for pursuing their art in public spaces. Mrs. Stewart never took her eye off the political significance of his death. Citing New York’s stop-and-frisk laws and the ongoing abuses faced by people of color nationwide, she said she wanted people to remember that her son fell prey to an America that victimizes young men like her son “all the time.” Her voice quavered only once, and it wasn’t when she recounted the terrible night of Michael’s death; it was when she reflected upon the abuses that still persist, even after 30 years. “Nothing much has changed,” she said once, and then again, faintly. “Nothing much has changed.” -- source link
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