BIRTHRIGHT

This painting presents the cross-section of a pregnant Black woman, her womb carefully rendered as both an anatomical reality and a symbolic vessel. At its center, the unborn child is suspended, connected by the umbilical cord — the literal lifeline that provides nutrients and growth. Here, the cord represents America itself: a nation abundant with opportunity and resources, technically accessible to all. Yet, wrapped around the fetus’s neck, it also suffocates — embodying the contradictions Black Americans inherit at birth. Born into Black bodies within a country built on racial violence and inequality, the same system that sustains life simultaneously alienates, restricts, and endangers it.

The surrounding textured white fields emphasize this tension, functioning as both a stark backdrop and a spiritual aura, framing the mother’s body in the dual realities of nurture and oppression.

Though this piece is specifically dedicated to my kid nephew, the painting stands as both warning and affirmation to all Black Americans and a message to those who don't share the same racial story, unique to this country alone: to inherit Blackness in America is to inherit tension, contradiction, complexity, and risk. But equally so, it is also to inherit resilience, identity, and an unshakable birthright.

We are far more than the color of our skin, and more than deserving of everything this bountiful country has to offer.

For a deeper exploration of this work, see the Reflections section: God, Gunz, & Glory: Free From the Black Curse