My arpillera contribution is focused on trying to provoke the viewer into questioning their possible assumptions or complacencies with regard to racial inequalities in the United States of America, as they exist today, in 2020. This is not the age of chattel slavery, nor are these the days of state-sanctioned apartheid segregation. However, it is hopefully made painfully clear that the impacts and legacies of these institutions and ongoing systemic racism are still sewn deeply into the fabric of these United States of America, to this very day.

I care about this topic because I grew up in Northfield and my own kids are now being raised in our town. I feel an obligation to them and to all the future citizens of Vermont and our American community to add my voice and actions in support of Black Lives Matter. I believe it should not be left to People of Color and their families alone to speak up. Fighting for racial justice, equity, and dignity is a human cause. I hope that my contribution to this arpillera will help to open eyes, as well as hearts and minds, to the active protest and intentional and personal action that we all may need to take to help remove these unconscionable inequities in the United States, that for so many of us White individuals may have remained hidden in plain sight. Furthermore, it is critical that we realize that supporting one another is not a zero-sum game. White people do not lose as a result of Black people’s gains. We, all of us, benefit from a more just, equitable, and unified society.

The different physical elements within my arpillera that I hope will make people stop and think, are a number of shocking and very real statistics highlighting the gross inequalities in our country and society along racial lines. I also added iconography to help make visual connections between the statistics and their impacts. The key design elements of my artwork focus on the Northfield Middle & High School guiding principle of CURIOSITY. I want people to critically review and internalize the horrific statistics and what they mean for us all. How have we arrived here? What is the price of continuing to ignore or allow these life and death injustices to continue? What can we do individually and collectively to try and mend these societal evils that continue to fester?

My takeaway message is that People of Color, and in particular Black Americans, are far from equal in our society when compared on almost any metric. In many cases and places, they are far less safe, as well. I know that when my kids and grandkids look back on our moment in history, I would like them to see that I, and that Northfield, took a courageous stand on the side of equity, dignity, and safety for those who have been consistently marginalized, and even brutalized, in our society. There are no easy solutions or panaceas, but I fully believe that this is our generation's moment to “bend the arc of justice” towards the elusive “more perfect union” that all Americans should strive for and deserve.

My arpillera has a strong connection to arpillera #11, its mirror image to the right. A lack of universal healthcare has an outsized negative impact on the already poor and oppressed in our society. There is a physical sign held by the child near the pregnant mother in the upper left of my arpillera, that mirrors the signs of the healthcare themed artwork. In a country as wealthy as ours, it is a travesty to allow Black mothers to die at a rate of two to three times their White counterparts. It is also a tragedy to lose twice as many Black people to Covid-19 due to (among many factors) the greater prevalence of preexisting conditions associated with higher rates of living in polluted areas, the impact of food deserts, lack of preventative care, and the constant weathering stress of living in perpetual fear as a second-class citizen in our society. A healthcare system that supports all, equitably, regardless of class or race, would go a long way toward bridging and healing these divides.