“Where some may see flat, static narratives, I see a spectrum of tonal gradations and realities. What I am creating is literally black portraiture with ballpoint pen ink. I'm looking for that in-between state in an individual where the overarching definition is lost. Skin as geography is the terrain I expand by emphasizing the specificity of blackness, where an individual’s subjectivity, various realities and experiences can be drawn onto the diverse topography of the epidermis. From there, the possibilities of portraying a fully-fledged person are endless.” MayPersonsStatesRealityIndividualLostBlackPossibilityCreatingSkinsDefinitionsVariousEndlessNarrativeFlatsPensDiverseInkSpectrumGeographyStaticBlacknessSubjectivityTerrainPortrayingPortraitureSpecificityTopographyBallpoint Pens Author:Toyin Odutola
“People don’t realize that when you’re Latin, you’re so diverse. I am black. I am Latin. I am Spanish. You know? It’s a little bit of everything, and that’s beautiful. So, everybody, claim me. I’m fine with that!” PeopleKnowsLittlesBeautifulBitsBlackRealizingFineLittle BitClaimsLatinDiverse Author:Joan Smalls
“The upside of being a part of a post-civil rights generation is that black folks really are more diverse. But the flash point for that diversity is caught up in Hip Hop. So you have a generation that says, 'I'm gonna wear my sneakers, and I'm gonna wear my pants how I like themThen you have a generation that says, 'I did not get bit by dogs for you to conduct yourself this way. Then the younger generation says, 'Yes, you did. This is what freedom means.'” WayMeanBitsBlackRightsGenerationsDogDiversityFolksCaughtHip HopCivil RightsHipsPostsHopsPantsFlashDiverseCaught UpYounger GenerationSneakers Author:Reginald Hudlin
“The street is as diverse as any other sector, but in peoples' mind it gets appropriated as a black man who's tough. Trying to make it through by staying hard and phallocentric. To me, that is just an impoverished conception of what it is to be a black male. It doesn't do justice to my grandfather, my father, my brother - or just the black men I grew up with.” MenTryingMindHardFatherBlackJusticeStreetsBrotherGrewGrew UpToughMalesMy BrotherStayingConceptionDiverseGrandfatherMy GrandfatherBlack Males Author:Cornel West
“Hip-Hop is diverse. But the white, capitalist producers and distributors of Hip-Hop are most interested in the Hip-Hip that is misogynist, that is Black-hating, that is pugilistic, that is to say all about fighting and war and killing and gangsterism.” WarHateFightingBlackWhiteKillingHip HopProducersHipsHopsCapitalistDiverseDistributors Author:Bell Hooks
“Hip-hop is very diverse, but if you only focus on one aspect of it, then what you get is this image of Black America that is completely contrary to what actually goes on.” IfsAmericaBlackFocusGoes OnAspectHip HopContraryHipsHopsDiverseBlack America Author:Prince
“Black children, white children, Latino children. America is becoming more diverse, it's becoming more tolerant as a consequence there's more interactions between groups. There are going be tensions that arise.” ChildrenAmericaBlackWhiteGroupsBecomingConsequenceAriseTensionInteractionDiverseLatinoBecoming More Author:Barack Obama