The current Yellow House exhibition of Magic, Mirth, and Mortality: Musings on Black Motherhood, pierces the heart and stirs the soul. With the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and Mother’s Day as bookends, one of sorrow, one of joy, the exhibition becomes all the more significant.
Yellow House posted the following to their facebook page.
“The grief is palpable. We as parents want nothing more than for our children to be happy and go for their dreams. We also aim to protect them and keep them safe. Once they exit our bodies it’s an awful realization that love alone won’t be enough to keep them from danger.” – Shawana Brooks
On this Mother’s Day our intention was to celebrate by lifting up the art and stories in our current exhibition, “Magic, Mirth, and Mortality: Musings on Black Motherhood”. Instead we linger on the the grief that is palpable as our hearts turn toward Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, who lost her son to a racially-motivated murder on February 23rd in Brunswick, Georgia. None of us can rest until justice is done. We can not turn away from the truths of this moment that are marked by a history that devalues Black men, women, and children. We can not deny the rawness in Shawana’s words, which remind us that this is a fear felt by Black mothers and their mothers and their mothers.
As we honor mothers and others doing the work of mothering, let us not forget those who have lost their children, and those who worry for their children as they simply listen to music, play in a park, walk down the street, or going for an afternoon jog. Let us think of Wanda Cooper-Jones and her son, Ahmaud. He would have turned 26 yesterday and tomorrow she will continue to mourn wearing the title of mother.
To breathe in the full experience of the exhibition you can visit the virtual gallery and add your voice to conversation here… https://yellowhouseart.org/virtual/
Art by the brilliant Marsha W. Hatcher.