Say Their Names

Artist William Payne’s mural unequivocally displays the hypocrisy that exists in America: innocent citizens, mainly minorities, killed by law enforcement with little to no repercussions. The imagery depicts an African-American man with his back to the viewer, barely holding onto a tattered American flag, flapping in the wind. The consummate symbol of America is ripped and torn, with the names of victims of policy brutality scrawled across the stripes of the flag. The piece is meant to evoke emotion and conversation: how can this be happening in the land of the free? There is far to go before there is equality and justice for everyone.