Racial Violence is a Public Health Emergency. Art is the Solution.
Introducing the ANTHONIA OLUSOLA AKINBOLA MEMORIAL PROJECT.
I received terrible news a couple of days ago. An aunt I’d grown up with, one of the closest friends I remember my mother ever having, left this world at the young age of 63. To make it worse, I was informed that her passing was a result of not just medical malpractice, but racial violence. The hospital is accused of multiple violations of the law, including willful neglect and an absence of patient-centered care.
A Significant Influence on Me
I can’t help but smile when I think of my Aunty Sola. It’s unbelievable that I hadn’t heard her voice, had a conversation in probably eight years. I kept some tabs through my mom with whom Aunty Sola was best friends during my childhood.
My two most colorful memories of Aunty Sola are of moments that were critical for shaping who I am today.
One is a visit to her and Uncle Pat’s Batik Arts shop in downtown Columbia, Missouri. This was one of the first times in my conscious memory that I laid eyes on the wonder that is Adire.
Here we were in this white town where it was rare to see a Black-owned business, and these two Nigerian Artists had opened a high quality boutique dedicated to our indigenous art of Adire.
I remember being astonished at the art just like you would see in a biopic with a childhood flashback in slow motion with the sun shining brightly and the gorgeous soft music playing.
I was in love. But I had no outlet, no opportunity to express or interact with that love that I had discovered for textile arts.
The below was written on July 22…
Here is a pic that Uncle Pat sent me. I had never seen this image before yesterday.
This is going to be a saga, so pull up a chair and stay in Tune.
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