My topic is about racial equality, police brutality, and brutality in general. I am personally connected to this because I have family members who are People of Color, and others who are outspoken, White, and bigoted. These two sides of my family have been in a constant feud since they were brought together. This family dynamic is a small version of how it feels to live in the United States of America right now and, like with my family, I feel trapped in the middle. I have seen and heard, first-hand, how difficult life is for a Person of Color in Vermont and in the United States nowadays. That said, I also don't appreciate living in a world where I feel like I am accused of being racist just because I am White.

I tried to get this deep-seated historical racial tension across in my arpillera by starting back at the Civil War: a time when racial pressures and divisions literally boiled over into full-blown war and brothers fighting brothers. This is represented with the clashing Union and Confederate soldiers and their flags. The fact that in the quilt the soldiers are in black-and-white and that there are natural unsettled hills, shows that this was a long time ago. On the right, the city represents modern times, and there is a colorized clashing of Black protesters with a United States flag, and police officers. The national tension today feels like it is building back to a point that may break our country into pieces again. Over 150 years have gone by, and how much have the racial divisions and hostility changed? It sure feels like the war never changes.