Way before social media echoed “HANDS UP! DON’T SHOOT!,”
Basquiat illustrated “HANDS UP! DON’T SHOOT!”
Way before the Black Lives Matter Movement drew attention to police brutality,
Basquiat painted pictures of police brutality.
That was New York… 1980’s;
I just wanted to take a moment to say #ArtIsActivism…
yet they try to blur the lines
by telling you there’s a fine line between creative and crazy.
Maybe Basquiat was ahead of his time…
Maybe that black father didn’t lose a daughter…
Maybe that black mother didn’t lose a son…
Maybe those black children didn’t lose a friend…
Maybe Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar helped them see Black Lives Really Matter…
Maybe they’ll stop white washing the news…
Maybe my vivid imagination has tainted my views…
Maybe Marvin didn’t literally mean brother, when he sang: brother, brother, brother; there’s far too many of you dying…
Maybe; when I see footage of police brutality, my eyes are lying…
Maybe the black community painted the elephants in the room…
Maybe I let my creativity get the best of me…
Maybe I should stop painting with words…
Maybe I’m just dabbing on my Jean-Michel…
Maybe I’ve just arrived at crazy.
–@StevieStreets #homage | from THE BLACK LIVES MATTER COLLECTION: Basquiat
steviestreets.wordpress.com 