This body of work explores the relationship between white fragility and rejections of socially-conscious and equity-focused curriculums in all realms of academic discourse. Critical Race Theory, and its relationship to how we understand systems of oppression in this country, is both essential in the present and vital to our future. 

The suggestion that socially-conscious and equity-focused curriculums present conversations around justice, equity and oppression as problematic is rooted in white supremacy and a perceived loss of power. 

When young people learn about the world and its foundations - its histories, and our often challenging relationships to each other, they grow. They develop empathy for their neighbor. They understand that the concept of fairness is often a rigged proposition. They learn that their families bootstraps have been built on other people's backs… and that that is wrong. 

When we hide our histories….When we pretend that oppression does not exist… When we ignore our own complicity as white people, and suppress access to this knowledge for our children, we do them a disservice. We make fragile people that believe they have no connections to systems of power and that change is not necessary now or in the future. That belief  - is dangerous.

It will ruin us all.

They Tied Themselves in Knots is an exploration of the Flag as a symbol for a nation. Using mixed media painting techniques, images create a panoramic landscape where scenes of flags proliferate into chaotic combinations of lines and form. Wrapping around themselves, and other objects, the flag begins to obscure the space, uncontrolled. Inspiration was derived from the following poem as part of the process of creating this work.  

FLAG

What’s that fluttering in the breeze?
It’s just a piece of cloth
that brings a nation to its knees.

What’s that unfurling from a pole?
It’s just a piece of cloth
That makes the guts of men grow bold.

What’s that rising over the tent?
It’s just a piece of cloth
that dares the coward relent.

What’s that flying across a field?
It’s just a piece of cloth
that will outlive the blood you bleed.

How can I possess such a cloth?
Just ask for a flag my friend.
Then blind your conscience to the end.

From Half-Caste and Other Poems, John Agard 2004

red-flag verb
transitive verb 

: to identify or draw attention to (a problem or issue to be dealt with)
: something that indicates or draws attention to a problem, danger, or irregularity
: a warning signal or sign


What is a flag? Is it an object? An item made with fabric and affixed to a rigid piece of wood stabbed into the ground. Something to be shifted and eventually tattered by the striking force of the wind and elements over time.  

Is a flag a warning? Is it the opening shot in the fight for a space does not belong to you. Is it a tool of suppression? A pinpoint on a distant hill, always claiming.

Is a flag a nation? The manifestation of patriotism in its purest form... an assertion of one's sovereign right to freedom. But whose freedom's does a flag protect?