So way back in 1992 in L.A. the city went on a rampage over the Rodney King verdict. The news were all over it and for days all you could see on tv was madness. I am from East L.A. and at that time I was in the Marine Corps (devildog!) and stationed in Camp Lejeune NC. All I could do was keep track of what was happening in L.A. from the burning and looting to the National Guard rolling thru the streets... LAPD was nowhere to be seen!
I will be honest with you, I grew up mad at this society that lavishes wealth and power on the few and keeps the masses broke, poor and hungry. I was poor and hungry growing up. Christmas gifts for me was some underwear and flip flops. We didnt have much growing up. And it was fukn rough! I look back at those days and even go thru L.A. when I visit and cant believe that my people think its ok to live in poverty and crime... some of those folks live that way on purpose!
In any case, I was full of hate and joined the Marines thinking that I could get away from it all and live the life of a warrior beyond the borders of my barrio.
1992 came around and the violence and chaos on the streets confirmed what I always felt was the truth: the system is broken, no one gives a damn and there cant be reform and change without destruction. So since I could not join the fray physically, I joined it in spirit and thats how the first drawing came about. Locos And Puercos Department.
A few months ago I was told about an art show at the City Of Ink Tattoo shop here in Atlanta. The theme was police brutality, and after watching that video of BART Police shooting an unarmed and physically restrained Oscar Grant I was truly confinced that shit aint changed in 17 years! So I looked for my old drawing and decided that I was going to give it the 2009 treatment (my skills are much more improved in comparison to those days) for this show. And since I'm on the skateboard deck trip, I would do a drawing that I could apply to a deck showing that I still feel like the system is broken and no amount of black presidents can fix it. The finished product is 32 inches by 8 inches, illustrator design on a deck.
Let us not get lost in the celebriality of the black president and forget that the streets are still hot and we should be sick and tired of the brutality and racism by the powers that be.