The art piece I am submitting for the Triton Transfer Storyteller Scholarship is an oil painting that I created titled “400 Years for Eternity.” This art piece represents not only a story of my personal resilience as a Black man in this country—but even greater, a story of the historical and ongoing resilience of Black people (as a whole) fighting against racism and injustice in this country.

My personal act of resilience comes in the form of “when” and “why” this art piece was initially produced. After the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020—the same day as my birthday— I felt the personal need to go out and protest against police brutality and the systemic racism that occurs all too often in our country. I participated in three protests in opposition to the injustice in our country but still felt the need to get a specific message across during these protests. That is when I felt the urge to create an art piece depicting the centuries of oppression against Black people in America, but at the same time depicting the constant and strong resilience of the Black community through it all. The art piece illustrates hope and a future for a generation that will not have to deal with the same issues that we are dealing with in this day and age. While attending these protests and creating this art piece, I was also still finishing up my spring quarter at UCSD, having two weeks left. However, I ultimately decided to excuse myself from the last two weeks of finals to do what I believed was more important. Especially for the fact that I was the only Black student in all of my classes that quarter, the George Floyd murder and protests felt like something that only I was able to truly resonate with amongst my classmates and professors. And that ironically made it feel like an obligation to attend these protests, by the way it felt like I was a representative of the Black community in my classes. Nevertheless, I stopped attending my classes that quarter, emailed my professors a pdf of my painting, and continued to go to peaceful protests, marching for all the Black lives that were lost and oppressed due to racism.

My small act was simply a fragment of the wider-encompassing history of resilience from Black people. Aspects within my art piece display literal gestures of this very resilience; from the main figure still managing to hold up a raised fist despite the ropes bound to his arms; from him still being able to open his eyes despite the tear gas being blown in his face; even from him being able to lift the child up to safety despite being shot in the back several times. Additionally, the painting alludes to culturally significant moments throughout history. One can be found how the figure is kneeling down as Colin Kaepernick did in protest against racial injustice. Another is the figure raising a Black power fist just as former track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos held up during the American national anthem in the 1968 Summer Olympics. The teargas even alludes to my own personal experience of going out during the early George Floyd protests and ending up getting teargassed and shot at with rubber bullets.

The title itself, “400 Years for Eternity,” is a double entendre. For one, it explains what the painting itself is illustrating, how African-Americans have gone through over 400 years of

oppression and racism for the next generation to finally have an “eternity” of peace atop the cliff—when racism is finally over. However, the second meaning gives the idea that

African-Americans will have “sets” of 400-year-long moments of oppression and racism. And that these sets will go on for eternity. With this specific meaning, it gives a grim reality that racism will never entirely go away. This meaning also alludes to the meaning in JAY-Z’s song “The Story of O.J.” where he gives the idea that a post-racial world cannot possibly exist because African-Americans will inevitably still be tied to their oppressed history.

Despite the idea that a post-racial world may not be possible, we are still able to move forward towards a better world than the one we live in today. This country has grown past its

foundational tools of slavery, it has grown past black bodies being hung up and lynched on a regular basis, it has grown past the disallowment of African-Americans and women to vote, and it has even grown past segregation. May we move into a time where systemic racism, police brutality, and the shooting of black bodies is only something experienced within a textbook. Resilience from African-Americans has happened since the beginning of slavery all the way up to today. It has gotten us this far. And it is this same resilience that will bring us into a brighter future.