Friday, November 14, 2014

Breaking Stereotypes with Art

Breaking Stereotypes with Art
written by Sara Swisher and edited by Tiffany Corkran
       St. Louis resident Tiffany Johnson Cade paints intricate lines of her friend's son Malik. When she is painting, thoughtfulness comes with every stroke. Her desire to make a difference radiates throughout her heart while paint fumes fill her nostrils. She's not just painting a man who is a dance instructor in Nashville and dances in a dance company. She's painting positivity and breaking down racial stereotypes like "thug".
Malik by Tiffany Johnson Cade
            Cade's portrait collection Paradigm Shift incites conversation about how African American males are portrayed in the media. She painted African American men in a positive light and projected their "atypical qualities", like her son Camden the saxophone player and member of his school's robotics team. The illuminated saxophone carefully placed in Camden's hands show us who he is as a person. Camden is a teenager that likes to play the saxophone, and he can be and do anything he wants. She says she is breaking down the stereotype that African American males are destined to be criminals, and the only way they can become successful is by being a rapper or basketball player. Camden shows the world that this stereotype isn't true. Camden can be a saxophone player or a robotics engineer. Not only did she create a space where people can talk about the portrayal of African American men in the media but also, Paradigm Shift is her reaction to Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis.
            "I want them to think, that is someone's child," says Cade. The lump in her throat makes her voice shake.
            "Right," I say while I think about Brown's murder. Michael Brown is a human being with
Camden by Tiffany Johnson Cade
rights and his rights were violated.
            "I purposely used big canvases so people are forced to look at their faces. Just don't shoot," She says.
            I was amazed by her creative thoughtfulness.
            "I had to sit down with my sons and tell them about the 'do's and don'ts's' of behaving around the police," choking, "That could've been my son."
            When Cade learned of 18-year-old Michael Brown's death and that he was unarmed and shot by a police officer, she thought of her son. She thought of the fear that an officer won't see her son the way she see's him, a saxophone player. When Cade heard of Michael Brown's death, it resonated with her on a personal level. That could've been her son, the member of his school's robotics team. She could've been in Michael Brown's mother's place: dealing with the media, funeral arrangements, and the loss of her son. At the time of his death, it resonated with me but not on a personal level. It was horrible what happened to Michael Brown but I knew it would never happen to my future son.
        Caritas Village has given me the ability to interview amazing people like Tiffany Johnson Cade. Cade gave me a magnifying glass and helped me to see her perspective with her portrait series. I was forced to see that these successful men are sometimes subjected to racism because they are African American. Sometimes racism turns into tragedies like the death of Michael Brown. Cade let me look into her heart and see the fear she has for her own sons. Her sons are African American young men from St. Louis just like Michael Brown. Cade could've easily gotten that call from the police department. Cade was forced to teach her sons how to act in front of police; that is unacceptable. The police are suppose to protect citizens not terrorize them. Cade made me think about what it would be like to be in her place. What if my white brother was portrayed as a "thug" in the media? What if police shot my brother for his race? Those thoughts sent chills through my spine that radiated to my stomach. No one deserves to think about that. No one should be afraid of their loved ones being devalued by media and shot by police. Cade is changing people's perspectives and forcing us to ask questions with art. She is showing the world who these men are. She is revealing to us their humanity with every stroke of paint.  Cade made me ask tough questions. How can we change the way African American men are portrayed in the media? Caritas Village provides a place for these artworks to inspire others with their Artist Reception that is every first Friday of the month. This month's artist reception is Leila Hamdan's Civil Rights Photography in Memphis, which features photographs taken from the sanitation strike in 1968. I want to save the world. I want to live in Caritas.