Tino Cook

When George Floyd’s murder stunned the world, I stopped everything and became committed to this work because I knew the harassment, violence, and bloodshed was far from ending.

My artwork is in direct response to the hypocrisy, disenfranchisement, and bloodshed of my people in the United States and around the world. I want to bring truth to how far we have come and the things we have achieved being under a foundation of slavery and terror.

My street protest artwork is a subset of 99 pieces in my “Caged Bird” series. I have participated in marches in the streets to demand accountability and change in police abuse and inhumane government systems, and I created these works of art in the shadow of George Floyd’s public lynching.

I built my protest artwork to be sturdy enough to be used in protest marching, with images on both sides to be seen coming and going, and with extensions to be held high in the air when marching. Each artwork can be self-standing as presented and is about six feet in height. I used acrylic paint and cleared it with a polyurethane clear coat for protection against weather.

With these artworks, we march for Justice. As Dr. Martin Luther Kings stated: “Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Power to the people.”