Lauren Anderson (staff)

Lauren Anderson & Heidi Anderson, “Alphabet Blocks,” 2020. Acrylic on wood, 26 blocks 1.5 x 1.5 x 15 inches.

Artist Statement: This is a selection of the alphabet blocks my wife and I painted for our hoped-for future children. Representation matters and we hope our kiddos will see humanity in all people. We plan to teach them about the more just future we are working towards as well as the unjust present and past. Some blocks have Black folks in every day actions, like doing yoga or holding their baby. We also included influential African Americans in history and the present, including Janelle Monae, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Malcolm X and white folks who fought for equal rights like Eleanor Roosevelt. That way we can share their difficult, compelling, and courageous stories while playing with our kiddos.

For example, we might say, “Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born into slavery. She took care of her younger siblings after her parents died from an illness. She became a teacher and a journalist. When racists in her town killed her friend because they wanted what he had, she became an activist who spoke out against those types of killings. She didn’t solve problems with one speech. She had to persevere and keep fighting. Eventually, she married and had a big family of her own and a lovely home in Chicago. Even as a new mother, she took her babies to protests.” Or, “Malcolm X had a powerful message that was hard for white people like us to hear. He explained why the U.S. gave white people more chances than Black people. He is on this block so we remember how brilliant he was and also remind ourselves that we don’t get to possess his brilliance.”