"Color of Change"
This piece portrays the duality between a bleak, dystopian future that highlights the stakes for Black communities and communities of color if we lose crucial environmental justice battles (like pollution, water rights and access, increased natural disasters brought on by climate change, etc.) and an alternative vision for how those same communities could thrive if we fight for economic and environmental justice.
These futures exist simultaneously as possibilities, but the future that becomes our reality depends on both the necessary but painful reckoning with our situation (the two children recognizing what either of their lives could be) and unwavering devotion to our planet and the lives of those affected most by environmental injustice and climate change.
Alyssa Osasere is an illustrator based in Metro Detroit. Her work focuses on showcasing women of color and children in ethereal worlds. She has done editorial illustrations for Rookie Mag, and posters for Black Lives Matter and Color of Change. She also illustrates children's books. In her free time, she enjoys studying music and astrology.