Gillian Thomas

Artist Statement

As a black person, I have always been aware of racial inequality in this country, even from an early age. I have had The Talk with my parents and I have to constantly control my actions and emotions lest I become a target for someone else. From our laws, to our police, to our prisons, I know that every system in this country is designed to disenfranchise and condemn me and my people. Each year I live, I am becoming more and more aware of how much harder I have to work to get half the rewards of others and how the powers that be in this country are reluctant to change anything, if not completely opposed.

Covid-19, the BLM protests, the rollback on healthcare rights for LGBT+ folk, and even our current election cycle are all showing me that no one in charge is interested in creating lasting change and can't even do the bare minimum to make sure that people don't needlessly die. To make it worse, people can't protest without being in harm's way due to rampant police brutality. Officers who have needlessly killed Black lives can't be successfully arrested and jailed because police departments want to be anything but held accountable for their actions. I have looked at headlines of officers finding Black people hanging in trees and saying that it was a suicide, when I know it wasn't. I see officers gas, shoot, and hurt peaceful protestors but protect those that believe in Nazi, KKK, and Alt-Right propaganda. And when people see all of this and demand that the current policing system be abolished, we only get half hearted reforms and nothing that addresses the root problem of racist laws, lawmakers, and policing.

I know that there are some positive moments amidst all of this. I'm glad that there are people using their privilege to fight for others with less. I'm glad people are realizing that the systems in our country only support a select few people and actively condemn Black folks. I'm glad we can at least scream loud enough to not be ignored and force change. But, I'm also aware of our country's history, and that when those in power get sick of hearing about something, they do just enough to soothe their conscience, then shut down and pretend that the problem doesn't exist. We're already seeing it with Covid-19 and how every state is speeding towards reopening even though cases and deaths are still rising. We saw it with the Civil Rights Movement, where we were supposedly made equal as people, but not enough was done to make sure that those rules were enforced without bias and nothing was done to make sure Black folks had the same equity in resources and economic power as white folks. Right now, we might get some half hearted police reforms and empty gestures and apologies, but nothing that dismantles and changes the system from the inside out to make sure that Black folks aren't needlessly preyed upon. It's not a matter of if, but when the burnout will happen.

I wish I could be positive, but I have seen enough to know that positivity alone cannot create lasting change. I hope that we can fight hard enough to force some serious changes and keep them. But right now, everything hurts and things aren't too hopeful.

In short, it's a lot.

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