BLKKK Lives Don’t Matter, 2020
Mechi Shakur (Demetrius Green)
Original Location: 140 W. Washington Street
I named it “Blkkk Lives Don’t Matter” because people were saying the reason they were offended by Black Lives Matter is that they felt like it was singling out Black people and excluding everybody else. If you’re mad at Black Lives Matter for that reason, you should be just as mad about hearing “Blkkk Lives Don’t Matter.”
Artist Bio
Mechi Shakur, whose given name is Demetrius Green, is a self-taught painter who went to Arsenal Technical High School to study culinary arts but found that he had more talent with a paintbrush.
His influences include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonardo da Vinci, Bosch, and Kehinde Wiley. Shakur believes that art is a reflection of the artist and loves to blur the lines of reality and the imagination through an assortment of colors, while also diving into social and political issues.
He has had his work on display in the Murphy Building, Central Library, and the Indiana Landmarks Center.