Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PORTRAIT N. T. (GEORGE)

Date

2020

Materials

CANVAS, ACRYLIC PAINT, ROPE

No. Pieces

1

Length

61

Width

45.5

Description

PAINTED PORTRAIT OF GEORGE FLOYD ON WOOD FRAMED CANVAS. FLOYD IS IN THE CENTRE OF THE PAINTING IN BLUE, PINK, AND WHITE WEARING A GREEN TOP. BACKGROUND IS GREY, BROWN, AND BLACK. ON THE LEFT IN RED PAINT “SAY MY NAME” IS WRITTEN. KNOTTED ROPE IS ATTACHED TO THE TOP OF THE PAINTING SECURED WITH NAILS ON THE BACK OF THE FRAME. ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT THE ARTIST’S INITIALS "A F" ARE IN RED. PAINT IS WORN OFF IN SOME SPOTS.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

COMMEMORATIVE

POLITICS

History

ON THE 20TH OF JUNE 2020, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH ATTALIA FIKRE TO DISCUSS HER PORTRAIT OF GEORGE FLOYD. FLOYD WAS KILLED BY POLICE DURING AN ARREST IN MINNEAPOLIS IN MAY OF 2020, HIS DEATH LEADING TO WIDESPREAD ACTIONS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY AND IN SUPPORT OF BLACK LIVES MATTER, INCLUDING IN LETHBRIDGE. ATTALIA ATTENDED THE LOCAL JUNE 4TH, 2020 EVENT WITH HER PAINTING, WHICH SHE LATER DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THEIR INTERVIEW. ATTALIA SPOKE ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL ATMOSPHERE SURROUNDING GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH: “…THE PAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING… AS A PERSON OF COLOUR, TO SEE…ANYTIME YOU LOOK ANYWHERE ONLINE BASICALLY…PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE YOU OR YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS BEING BRUTALIZED AND…YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM IT… IT’S CHALLENGING EMOTIONALLY, AND IT TAKES A TOLL ON YOU… IT’S EXHAUSTING… THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IS SUCH A HOT TOPIC RIGHT NOW, AND I AM HOPING THAT IT IS NOT JUST FLAVOUR OF THE WEEK, BUT THERE’S SENSE IN ME THAT…FEELS LIKE THERE’S A BIT OF THE ‘HYPE’ AND THAT’S WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM, WHICH IS DIFFICULT AND SUPER FRUSTRATING… I’M JUST TRYING TO USE ALL OF THE FEELINGS… I HAVE TO…MAKE THINGS BETTER, TRY TO CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL OUT OF TRAGEDY…” ATTALIA EXPLAINED HER MOTIVATIONS BEHIND CREATING THE PAINTING: “…WHEN GEORGE…WAS…TAKEN HOME TO BE BURIED…THAT WAS VERY REAL… THIS PAINTING…THE REASON I PAINTED IT IS BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE GEORGE. I WANTED TO SEE HIS FACE, AND BECAUSE I THINK, ESPECIALLY IN SOCIETY, WITH FACEBOOK AND EVERYTHING, YOU CAN SEE ANYTHING FROM EVERYWHERE AND I THINK PEOPLE FORGET THAT THESE ARE REAL HUMANS WITH LIVES AND FAMILIES, SO FOR ME TO ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING LEGIBLE IN FRONT OF ME…THAT HAS HIS FACE…WAS HUGE… I AM SHOCKED AT HOW THERAPEUTIC IT WAS FOR ME TO PAINT THIS… AS I LEARN MORE, AND AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT GEORGE AND WHO HE WAS AS A PERSON…I FEEL LIKE I KNOW HIM, EVEN THOUGH I NEVER PERSONALLY MET HIM… I JUST HAD A REALLY DEEP CONNECTION TO IT THAT WAY… I THINK…WE NEED TO HONOUR… AND REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE…THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LOST…” “…IT IS FUNNY BECAUSE I USED TO DO QUITE A BIT OF ART…GROWING UP AND IN HIGH SCHOOL AND WHAT NOT, BUT I KIND OF LOST IT. AND THIS IS…THE FIRST… PIECE OF ART I HAVE REALLY PUT TIME AND EFFORT INTO, WHICH IS INTERESTING. AND IT’S BEEN EXTREMELY THERAPEUTIC… I AM AN ARTIST. IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING YOU ARE AN ARTIST I GUESS, RIGHT? BUT I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T SEE MYSELF THAT WAY, MAYBE BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE FORMAL TRAINING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT…” ATTALIA CONTINUED TO SPEAK ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND PAINTING GEORGE FLOYD: “…TO BE, TO BE COMPLETELY…FRANK AND HONEST,…I STOPPED DOING ART BECAUSE I JUST LOST INSPIRATION… MY MENTAL HEALTH…I HAVE STRUGGLED WITH…AND I JUST KIND OF LOST IT AND I THINK PART OF THAT WAS BECAUSE I…JUST DIDN’T SEE THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD. SO…FOR ME IT’S: HOW DO YOU CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL AND THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF WHEN YOU’RE FEELING LIKE...YOU’RE LIVING IN A HOLE? THAT IS KIND OF WHAT IT FEELS LIKE… I JUST FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING, AND LIKE I SAID, I WANTED TO SEE [GEORGE]… I WANT TO SEE HIS FACE EVERY DAY, AND SAY HIS NAME, IT’S BECAUSE…IT’S A GOOD REMINDER THAT…THESE ARE HUMAN LIVES THAT ARE BEING LOST, IT IS NOT JUST, LIKE I SAID, FLAVOR OF THE WEEK. BUT, THESE PEOPLE NEED TO BE REMEMBERED AND CELEBRATED AND HONOURED, TOO… I HAD A LOT OF FEELINGS… OF GRIEF TOO…SEEING EVERYTHING IN THE MEDIA, IT’S BEEN EXTREMELY HARD… IT’S VERY EMOTIONAL. EVEN SOMETHING LIKE GOING FOR A RUN…WHICH IS… JUST A RUN. BUT…EVERY TIME I HAVE GONE ON A RUN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, I’VE CRIED. BECAUSE I THINK, IF I WAS IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, I COULD BE KILLED. BECAUSE THAT’S HAPPENING…THAT’S REALLY HAPPENING… WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, AND REALLY APPLY IT TO YOUR LIFE, AND…IT’S MY BROTHER AND IT’S MY DAD… I SEE THEM IN GEORGE, TOO… SO IT JUST MAKES IT VERY REAL, AND I THINK I JUST THREW ALL OF [IT] TOGETHER AND IT JUST…CAME INTO THIS PIECE. LIKE I SAID, I REALLY JUST DID IT FOR MY OWN… BENEFIT REALLY AT THE BEGINNING, BUT IT JUST…TURNED INTO SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE… I’M JUST SO HAPPY THAT IT’S HERE [AT THE MUSEUM]… I WASN’T EVEN PLANNING GOING TO THE PROTEST IN LETHBRIDGE, BUT I ENDED UP…LOOKING AT [THE PAINTING] AND I [DECIDED] ‘WELL, WHY DON’T I TAKE IT?’… I WAS GOING TO PUT IT ON MY WALL SO I COULD SEE IT EVERY DAY, BUT I THOUGHT ‘OKAY, WELL LET’S TAKE IT. I MEAN, PEOPLE NEED TO SEE IT, RIGHT?’ SO, THAT’S WHERE I WENT, I JUST TOOK IT AND I DECIDED TO…SHOW IT OFF AND…IT GOT A REALLY GOOD RESPONSE…” “[THE PAINTING] TOOK ME A FEW DAYS [TO PAINT IN MY BACKYARD IN MEDICINE HAT]… LET ME SEE, THE PROTEST WAS LAST THURSDAY— I THINK I STARTED IT PROBABLY ON THE SUNDAY OR THE MONDAY.” ATTALIA DESCRIBED THE COMPOSITION OF THE PAINTING AND THE SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS: “…MY IDEA WAS, I REALLY WANTED TO PAINT HIM IN A WAY WHERE HE CAN BE SEEN…AS LIKE A LEADER. BECAUSE, I KNOW HE IS JUST AN ORDINARY MAN, BUT HE IS…REALLY THE FACE OF THIS MOVEMENT SO I THOUGHT…HE NEEDS TO BE CELEBRATED IN THE SAME WAY WHERE…[PERHAPS]…MALCOLM X IS CELEBRATED AND MARTIN LUTHER [KING JR. ARE]… HIS FACE NEEDS TO BE SEEN AND REMEMBERED AND I THINK…THAT’S THE WAY THAT THEIR SPIRIT LIVES ON… I JUST THINK IT’S SO POWERFUL THAT I...REALLY NEEDED TO…PORTRAY HIM IN A WAY WHERE HE’S NOT JUST A VICTIM BUT HE’S PROUD AND HE’S…A HERO. HE’S A CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE… IT JUST…CAME TO ME… I KIND OF HAD A PLAN FOR WHAT I WAS DOING AND…I SAW THE ROPE [THAT IS A PART OF THE ARTWORK], AND I DEBATED BECAUSE I THOUGHT, ‘IS IT TOO EXPLICIT?’… IT’S KIND OF EXPLICIT…BECAUSE, ESSENTIALLY, [GEORGE FLOYD] GOT PUBLICLY LYNCHED. BUT I THOUGHT…I AM GOING TO PUT THAT IN THERE BECAUSE THAT’S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE SEEN AND IT’S…OUR ANCESTORS. THE ROPE IS SUCH A SYMBOL OF THE RACISM AND THE DIFFICULTY THAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVE FACED, SO I DECIDED TO THROW THAT IN THERE…TO REMEMBER THE ANCESTORS AND EVERYONE WHO HAS FOUGHT THIS FIGHT IN THE PAST… THEY NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED… I’M NOT SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE SHOCK VALUE OF IT… I…THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING AN ACTUAL NOOSE AND ATTACHING IT BUT I THOUGHT, ‘OK, WELL THAT MIGHT BE TOO FAR.’ MAYBE IT’S NOT, I DON’T KNOW. BUT I REALLY WANTED [THE ROPE] TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE PIECE TOO.” “I ALWAYS HAD THE ROPE. I SAW IT AND I THOUGHT, THAT WOULD BE COOL. THAT WOULD JUST BE…THE CHERRY ON TOP… I DID THE PORTRAIT AND…I DEBATED WITH THE ROPE… IS IT TOO EXTREME?… YOU KNOW, IT MAKES PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT I DECIDED TO THROW IT IN THERE, AND I THINK…IT REALLY BROUGHT THE PIECE TOGETHER… AND THEN SAME WITH WHEN I PAINTED ‘SAY MY NAME,’ THAT REALLY PUT IT TOGETHER TOO BECAUSE… I JUST WANT IT TO BE REAL. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO SAY ‘GEORGE FLOYD,’ AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO SAY, ‘BREONNA TAYLOR,’ AND ‘ALBERTA WILLIAMS,’ AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT, NOT JUST BLACK PEOPLE, BUT PEOPLE OF COLOUR OF ALL DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS WHO ARE OVERLOOKED AND…FORGOTTEN… THERE’S BEEN SUCH AN INJUSTICE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE AND I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO REMEMBER…THEM…AND TO CELEBRATE THEM.” “…I WROTE ‘SAY MY NAME’ AND I PUT IT IN RED, AND I ALMOST WANTED IT LIKE IT WAS WRITTEN IN BLOOD. AND AGAIN, IT’S KIND OF EXTREME BUT…I TRULY THINK THAT…A HUGE ISSUE… WITH…SYSTEMATIC RACISM IS THAT PEOPLE AREN’T ACKNOWLEDGING IT BECAUSE IT IS UNCOMFORTABLE… IT IS KIND OF AWKWARD TO TALK ABOUT, BUT IT HAS TO BE TALKED ABOUT AND IT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE FUTURE. SO…I PUT THE BLOOD…’SAY MY NAME’…AND THEN AT THE BOTTOM I…HAD…DROPS OF…BLACK, AND…WHEN I SAW IT, IT WAS LIKE TEARS… TEARS OF PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT…THAT HAVE BEEN MOURNING THE LOSSES FOR SO LONG BUT JUST NOW, ARE BEING RECOGNIZED… THERE’S A LOT TO IT…I HAD GEORGE IN MIND WHEN I PAINTED IT BUT IT REALLY BECAME MORE THAN THAT… IT [HAS]…JUST OPENED A CAN OF WORMS FOR ME BECAUSE NOW, I’M PLANNING ON STARTING…A WHOLE…COLLECTION OF OTHER PIECES OF… DIFFERENT PEOPLE OF COLOUR WHO I THINK NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED AND CELEBRATED… EVEN JUST FOR THEIR FAMILIES TO SEE…PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE THINKING ABOUT THEM AND THEY’RE NOT ALONE IN THIS…” THERE WAS A RALLY IN SUPPORT OF BLACK LIVES MATTER IN LETHBRIDGE, WHICH ATTALIA ATTENDED WITH THE PAINTING: “…SO MY ORIGINAL PLAN, I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO DRIVE TO CALGARY [FOR THE EVENTS]…” “…THEY WERE [GOING TO] HAVE A RALLY ON THE SATURDAY, SO I GUESS THAT’S A COUPLE DAYS AFTER…THE LETHBRIDGE RALLY… [CALGARY’S] RALLY WAS ONLY FOR AN HOUR SO I THOUGHT, ‘…WELL THERE’S NOT REALLY A POINT IN ME GOING, DRIVING TWO HOURS FOR AN HOUR RALLY.’ …ACTUALLY, I DON’T EVEN THINK IT WAS A RALLY, IT WAS A VIGIL. BUT…I SAW THIS POST ON FACEBOOK ABOUT THE RALLY IN LETHBRIDGE AND I THOUGHT…I MIGHT AS WELL COME TO LETHBRIDGE... I’M REALLY GLAD I DID BECAUSE I THINK…LETHBRIDGE PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR IT MORE, BECAUSE THEY MAYBE…DON’T CELEBRATE DIVERSITY LIKE CALGARY, BECAUSE CALGARY’S A BIGGER CITY. SO, I JUST DECIDED… TO COME TO LETHBRIDGE INSTEAD…” “I CAME COMPLETELY BY MYSELF…” “I THINK I WAS OKAY TO BE ON MY OWN… IT’S KIND OF LIBERATING BECAUSE…I COULD STAY AS LONG AS I WANTED, AND I DID… THE RALLY STARTED…AROUND 3:00 [IN THE AFTERNOON] AND I THINK IT WENT [UNTIL] AROUND…8:00 P.M. IN THE EVENING SO I STAYED THE ENTIRE TIME, I LOVED IT AND…IT WAS NICE… WHEN I WAS DRIVING HOME I HAD TIME JUST TO MYSELF TO…PROCESS EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED AND THE PEOPLE I HAD MET. I MET SOME REALLY...AMAZING PEOPLE THAT DAY, SO THAT WAS COOL… I’VE MADE FRIENDS… THERE’S A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP AND I ALREADY FEEL…LESS ALONE IN THIS ISSUE THAN I DID BEFORE…” “…I WENT PRETTY EARLY… I THINK I WAS THERE ABOUT 2:30 BEFORE IT WAS…STARTING BUT THERE WAS…PEOPLE SITTING IN THE GRASS HERE AND THERE AND…SOME REPORTERS CAME AND TALKED TO MY DAD AND I, I THINK FROM THE HERALD.” ATTALIA SPOKE ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS MADE THROUGH ATTENDING AND THE IMPACT IT HAD: “…I WAS FRONT CENTRE, BUT THEN…I WAS SITTING THERE AND I SAW THAT THEY HAD A VOLUNTEER SIGN SO I THOUGHT, ‘OH, WELL, I’LL JUST GO UP THERE AND SEE IF THEY NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING.’ SO I…WENT UP AND I SAID ‘HEY, I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS, CAN I HELP?’ AND [THE EVENT ORGANIZERS] SAID, ‘SURE.’ SO THEY PUT A LANYARD AROUND MY NECK AND THEN I, ALL OF A SUDDEN…WAS ON THE STAGE HELPING… JUST BEING THERE FOR EACH OTHER… BECAUSE PEOPLE WENT UP…AND THEY TOLD STORIES THAT WERE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO TELL BECAUSE THEY’RE SO HURTFUL BUT I THINK…FOR THEM TO WALK OFF STAGE AND TO SEE THEM SO EMOTIONAL… IT WAS VERY REAL. TO SEE PEOPLE BARING THEIR SOUL AND THEN COMING OFF STAGE AND…WE WOULD ALL COME TOGETHER, AND WE WOULD HUG…EVEN PEOPLE I DIDN’T KNOW. I WOULD JUST SAY…’I LOVED THAT YOU SHARED YOUR STORY,’ [AND] ‘YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL WORDS,’…JUST TO SHOW SUPPORT… I REALLY DO FEEL LIKE THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THERE’S A LOT OF…BLACK PEOPLE THAT WERE VOLUNTEERING TOO…WE REALLY CAME TOGETHER…JUST TO SAY…’I SEE YOU, I HEAR YOUR STORY, AND I’M SORRY BUT I’M WITH YOU, I STAND WITH YOU.’ THAT WAS HUGE.” “…THE STAGE WAS SET UP AND THEN THERE WAS THE AUDIENCE AND ALL THE VOLUNTEERS WERE KIND OF CONGREGATED BEHIND…WATCHING AND THERE WERE SPEAKERS…HANGING OUT AND WE HAD SNACKS AND WATER THAT WE WERE HANDING OUT TO THE PUBLIC… WE…WERE IN THE BACKGROUND BUT WE SAW SIDES THAT PEOPLE DIDN’T…” ATTALIA ELABORATED ON BRINGING THE PAINTING OF GEORGE TO THE ACTION: “…WHAT’S FUNNY IS BECAUSE…WHEN I PAINTED [THE PORTRAIT] I WASN’T EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE PROTEST, I DID IT FOR ME… THEN…I BOUGHT POSTER BOARD BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, ‘OH, I’LL MAKE A POSTER,’ AND I THOUGHT, ‘WHY WOULD I MAKE A POSTER LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE WHEN I HAVE A PIECE OF ART THAT I CAN SHOW OFF THAT I’M...SUPER PROUD OF AND IT’S COOL?’… I WANT PEOPLE TO SAY GEORGE’S NAME, I WANT PEOPLE TO SEE IT, SO I JUST DECIDED TO TAKE IT WITH ME AND I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE STOPPED AND SAID, ‘WOW, LIKE THAT IS REALLY COOL…I’M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT…’…I BROUGHT THE PAINTING WITH ME, THE PAINTING WAS WITH ME ALL DAY, I CARRIED IT AROUND…AND I HELD IT ON THE STAGE… THERE WAS A COUPLE MOMENTS OF SILENCE FOR GEORGE…AND…THERE WAS A COUPLE OF US THAT JUST LAID ON THE STAGE, ON THE GROUND AND WE LAID TOGETHER, GEORGE AND I… AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT WAS REALLY COOL BECAUSE IT WAS…KIND OF SUNNY IN THE DAY AND IT WAS…SLOWLY TURNING OVERCAST. BY THE END OF IT, IT WAS POURING. I WAS ACTUALLY IN THE RAIN, WITH MY PAINTING… I WAS KIND OF WORRIED, I WAS LIKE ‘OH, I HOPE IT DOESN’T GET WRECKED.’ BUT I WASN’T [GOING TO] PUT IT AWAY…IT WAS PART OF THE PROTEST… GEORGE AND I WERE IN THE RAIN…” “…I DIDN’T PUT [THE PAINTING] DOWN. I DIDN’T WANT TO… FOR A LOT OF IT, I WAS HOLDING IT UP IN THE AIR… LIKE I SAID, THERE WAS A MOMENT OF SILENCE… AND WE KNELT ON A KNEE… I KNELT AND I JUST LOOKED AT THE PHOTO…THAT WAS REALLY A[N]… INTERESTING TIME OF REFLECTION… THAT WAS REALLY COOL… I DIDN’T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN. I EVEN HAD…PEOPLE [ASK] ‘…DO YOU WANT ME TO HOLD THAT FOR YOU?’ AND I WAS [REPLIED] ‘NO…IT’S PART OF ME. IT’S HERE. IT’S WITH ME’…” ATTALIA DISCUSSED THE ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THE RALLY AND THE OVERALL MOVEMENT: “…[RACISM] HAS ALWAYS HURT. BUT I THINK,…LIKE I SAID… I LOOKED AWAY AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST LOOKED AWAY. BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO LOOK AT IT, BECAUSE IT HURTS…TO LOOK AND ACKNOWLEDGE THESE THINGS… I COULD NOT…LOOK AWAY ANY MORE. IT’S REAL AND IT’S HAPPENING… ANOTHER HUGE THING…BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND TALKING TO OTHER BLACK PEOPLE HAS BEEN REALLY VALIDATING FOR ME…ESPECIALLY AT THE MARCH. THAT WAS A VERY EMOTIONAL DAY BECAUSE…I GREW UP IN LETHBRIDGE AND I CAN SAY THAT I NEVER FELT LIKE MY DIVERSITY WAS CELEBRATED, IN ANY WAY. I THINK A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOUR CAN RELATE TO THAT… I WAS TOLD ALL MY LIFE, IN DIFFERENT WAYS, THAT I WASN’T BLACK ENOUGH. EVEN IF IT WAS JUST SOMETHING SMALL THAT SOMEONE WOULD SAY…BECAUSE I AM CANADIAN-ETHIOPIAN. MY DAD’S FROM ETHIOPIA, MY MOM WAS BORN IN ALBERTA… SO I’M OF MIXED RACE… TO BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO TALK TO OTHER BLACK PEOPLE AND TO REALIZE…THIS IS [MY] FIGHT TOO. THE FEELINGS THAT I HAVE ABOUT GEORGE AND ALL THE OTHER VICTIMS AND…THAT I WANT JUSTICE AND I WANT HUMAN RIGHTS TO BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE, THAT’S MY FIGHT TOO… THOSE ARE MY ANCESTORS, THAT IS MY BLOOD… I THINK…THAT’S PART OF THE PROBLEM TOO, IS PEOPLE PUT LABELS ON EVERYONE…ALL THE TIME, SO WE START TO LOOK AT EACH OTHER SEPARATELY… I THINK EVERYONE KNOWS THAT…BLACK PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BRUTALIZED. FOR A LONG TIME…THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE… I THINK IT WAS SO EXPLICIT…TO SEE GEORGE. I CHOSE NOT TO WATCH THE VIDEO [OF HIM BEING KILLED]…BUT I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE DID… BECAUSE IT WAS SO EXPLICIT…PEOPLE SAW HIS LAST MOMENTS… I THINK THAT’S WHY PEOPLE WERE SO COMPELLED TO GET INTO IT. BUT…JUST TO REALIZE HOW VALID MY FEELINGS ARE WAS HUGE AND NOW IT’S LIKE… I WANT TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME AND I WANT TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY…IT’S SUCH AN AMAZING THING… I THINK IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT WE NEED TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE IN SOCIETY, WE NEED TO STOP PUTTING LABELS ON PEOPLE SO PEOPLE KNOW THAT…THIS ISN’T JUST A BLACK PEOPLE’S ISSUE, THIS IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE. JUST LIKE THERE’S…THE OPPRESSION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN CANADA. THAT’S A HUGE ISSUE AND PEOPLE KNOW IT’S HAPPENING, BUT THEY’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND I DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE TOO…” “I’VE [PARTICIPATED IN SOME ACTIONS BEFORE]…WITH…THE YWCA…I THINK IT’S CALLED ‘TAKE BACK THE NIGHT,’ IT’S TO FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN PARTICULAR, SO THAT’S SOMETHING I’VE REALLY BEEN INVOLVED IN…BUT I WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN MORE… NOW THAT I’M…REALIZING…THAT IT’S NOT JUST A FIGHT FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE THAT THEY HAVE TO FIGHT…WE HAVE TO BE ALLIES TO ONE ANOTHER. SO NOW THAT I’M…SEEING IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, I’M TOTALLY MORE INCLINED TO…LEARN… I FEEL LIKE I’VE LEARNED SO MUCH IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS, AND IT’S…MIND BLOWING. TO…BE READING ALL THESE THINGS AND REALIZING, LEARNING WHAT… A RACIAL MICROAGGRESSION [IS], THAT WAS HUGE FOR ME… I DON’T THINK PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THERE’S DIFFERENT KINDS OF RACISM. THERE IS EXPLICIT RACISM…THAT I HAVE FACED AND MY FAMILY HAVE FACED, BUT THERE IS MICROAGGRESSIONS TOO… FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW, [A] MICROAGGRESSION IS WHEN SOMETHING IS SAID THAT IS MAYBE DEMEANING OR INSULTING, BUT THE PERSON SAYING IT DOESN’T REALIZE THAT IT IS POTENTIALLY HARMFUL AND SOMETIMES EVEN THE PERSON THEY ARE SAYING IT TO DOESN’T REALIZE IT’S HARMFUL… I WAS TOLD, MY WHOLE LIFE, FROM MY PEERS, ‘YOU’RE THE WHITEST BLACK PERSON I KNOW.’ SO, BEING TOLD THAT FOR SO LONG…YOU START TO THINK IT… THAT’S…A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF MICROAGGRESSION… THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT A LOT OF BLACK WOMEN FACE IS: ‘CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?...’ AND IT’S INTERESTING, BECAUSE, WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, YOU WOULDN’T GO UP TO A WHITE PERSON AND SAY, ‘CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?’ OR SOMEONE WITH ASIAN DESCENT, ‘CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR?’ ...IT’S WEIRD. WHY IS THAT OKAY? WHY DO PEOPLE THINK THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO INFRINGE ON THAT? I DON’T KNOW.” “I’VE SEEN IT HAPPENING, AND I’VE HEARD STORIES OF WOMEN AND…IT’S, IT’S REALLY DEMEANING…” ATTALIA EXPRESSED THE PERSONAL IMPACT RACISM HAS HAD: “…HONESTLY, I THINK BECAUSE I WAS TOLD THAT [I WASN’T REALLY BLACK] FROM…SCHOOLMATES OR FRIENDS…I THINK THAT I TRULY FELT THAT I WASN’T A BLACK PERSON, WHICH IS WEIRD… BUT THAT…GOES INTO ANOTHER ASPECT THAT’S INTERESTING, OF INTERNALIZED RACISM. I THINK THAT PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE OF COLOUR CAN BE RACIST TOO, EVEN TOWARDS THEMSELVES… SO EVEN I HAD RACIST TENDENCIES THINKING ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE BECAUSE THAT’S KIND OF WHAT I WAS TAUGHT LIVING IN A—I’LL SAY IT…A WHITE-WASHED CITY… I THINK THAT’S A VERY BIG PART OF IT TOO… THIS WHOLE MOVEMENT, IT HELPED ME REALIZE THAT…THE THINGS THAT I’VE BEEN TOLD INDIRECTLY HAVE REALLY AFFECTED ME LONG TERM IN THAT WAY AND REALLY CHANGED WHO I WAS, LIKE MY IDENTITY. THIS IS A HUGE PART OF WHO I AM AND IT’S SOMETHING I’VE…JUST PUSHED UNDER THE RUG BECAUSE I WAS TOLD ‘EH...YOU’RE BLACK, BUT NOT REALLY’… SO THAT’S REALLY AFFECTED ME…BUT I’M JUST KIND OF REALIZING IT NOW.” THE MOVEMENT ENCOURAGED ATTALIA TO TAKE MORE ACTION: “…I KNOW GEORGE’S STORY AND I’M HEARING ABOUT THE VICTIMS, I REALLY WANT TO LEARN…BECAUSE I THINK EDUCATING YOURSELF AND LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE’S STORIES HELPS SO MUCH, BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING… I REALLY [HAVE] BEEN TRY[ING] TO LEARN, EDUCATE MYSELF SO I CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF IT, AND NOW THAT I’M LEARNING THESE THINGS, I’M REALIZING THIS APPLIES TO MY LIFE TOO... I THINK IT PROBABLY APPLIES TO A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE…” ATTALIA POINTED OUT THAT LETHBRIDGE IS IMPLICATED IN THESE ISSUES: “…THERE’S PARTS OF LETHBRIDGE THAT ARE MY HOME, AND THERE’S BEAUTIFUL PARTS OF IT…WHICH IS GREAT… I DO THINK IT IS CHANGING, BUT THERE IS STILL A LOT OF CHANGE THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. SO, IT’S SLOWLY GETTING TO WHERE I WANT IT TO BE, BUT IT’S NOT THERE YET... EVEN JUST… HAVING A PROTEST TO…TALK ABOUT…THE RACIAL ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING AND TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE OF ALL DIFFERENT AGES AND…COLOURS…COME TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE WAS…VERY COOL… I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT FOR ANYTHING ELSE IN LETHBRIDGE… THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT I GUESS EVERYONE IS INTERESTED IN BECAUSE I THINK EVERYBODY WANTS IT TO BE [A] BETTER PLACE… I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT WANT IT TO BE BETTER AND THEY WANT TO BE INCLUSIVE BUT THEY DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW OR WHAT TO DO… I THINK LETHBRIDGE IS LEARNING, IT’S…GETTING TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE BUT…THERE STILL NEEDS TO BE CHANGES AND THERE DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE PROGRESS AND ONE IMPORTANT PART OF THAT IS…HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE, HOLDING OTHER PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, AND…REALLY TAKING THE TIME AND THINKING ‘…AM I RACIST? ARE MY BIASES HURTFUL TO SOMEONE IN A WAY THAT I’VE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT?’… REALLY…QUESTIONING THE THINGS THAT YOU’VE BEEN TAUGHT…AND THAT…GOES BACK TO…EDUCATING YOURSELF, LEARNING ABOUT DIFFERENT CULTURES, HEARING OTHER PEOPLE’S STORIES…THAT’S…A GAME CHANGER… I’M HOPEFUL AND…THERE’S GREAT ORGANIZATIONS IN LETHBRIDGE THAT ARE…STARTING, LIKE THE SAGE [CLAN], THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT… PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THAT THERE’S PEOPLE…ON THE STREETS, TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND FIGHTING…THERE [ARE] WAYS YOU CAN HELP. IT’S MORE THAN JUST SHARING SOMETHING ON FACEBOOK, OR…HAVING ACTUAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT, SELF-REFLECTION, EDUCATION, NOT TURNING AWAY BECAUSE IT HURTS OR IT’S AWKWARD, BUT JUST REALLY RECOGNIZING IT…” “…GROWING UP HERE, FOR A WHILE, I FELT LIKE ‘…LETHBRIDGE IS HOPELESS… PEOPLE ARE NEVER GOING TO CHANGE, IT’S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE SAME’… I NEVER FELT LIKE I COULD BE WHO I WANTED TO BE, WHO I [REALLY AM] HERE. BUT…AS I COME AND I VISIT, I SEE IT’S CHANGING SLOWLY, SO I THINK THAT IT’S STARTING TO CELEBRATE THE DIVERSITY HERE WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL…TO SEE THE PEOPLE IN LETHBRIDGE…THAT ARE STILL FIGHTING IS BEAUTIFUL… THERE’S BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE HERE TOO… BUT I THINK SOMETIMES IT’S EASY TO FOCUS ON THE BAD THINGS AND THE BAD PEOPLE…” ATTALIA OFFERED A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INVOLVING RACISM IN LETHBRIDGE: “…I KNOW [A FAMILY MEMBER HAS] EXPERIENCED RACISM, BLATANTLY, EXPLICITLY… WE HAVE AS A GROUP. AND IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE I HAVE A TERRIBLE MEMORY BUT THE THINGS I REMEMBER ARE…THE REALLY POWERFUL MOMENTS… ONE OF THE MEMORIES I HAVE AS A CHILD, THAT’S ALMOST MORE VIVID THAN ANY OTHER MEMORY, IS WHEN MY FAMILY WENT TO WESTMINSTER PARK, WE WERE GOING TO PLAY TENNIS, AND…SOMEONE CAME OUT OF THEIR HOUSE AND STARTED YELLING…’GET OUT OF HERE, N-WORD’…AND ‘WHITE POWER.’ THAT’S CRAZY! IT’S CRAZY TO THINK THAT HAPPENED HERE…” “…I KNEW IT WAS BAD AND I REMEMBER, I FELT SICK… I HAD NO IDEA, I JUST DIDN’T…RECOGNIZE THE POWER…[IN] WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. I DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND BUT I KNEW IT WAS BAD, I KNEW IT WAS WRONG.” IDENTITY, RACE, PLACE, AND BELONGING ARE INTERTWINED, SOMETHING ATTALIA ACKNOWLEDGED: “…I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS DIFFERENT, AND MY BROTHER WAS DIFFERENT BECAUSE…OF OUR HERITAGE. ESPECIALLY BEING ETHIOPIAN AND CANADIAN BECAUSE PEOPLE ASK US ALL THE TIME, ‘WHERE ARE YOU FROM?’ BECAUSE THEY DON’T REALLY KNOW… I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S PEOPLE ARE GENUINELY CURIOUS OR IF THERE’S ANOTHER UNDERLYING INTENTION BUT THEY LOVE TO ASK, ‘WHERE ARE YOU FROM?’… THEN I’LL USUALLY SAY, ‘OH, I’M FROM LETHBRIDGE’…AND THEY’LL SAY, ‘NO, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?’ AND IT’S LIKE, I JUST TOLD YOU… IT’S AN AWKWARD THING BUT I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT WE WERE DIFFERENT… IT WAS SOMETHING I’VE STRUGGLED WITH A LOT WAS…IDENTITY, BECAUSE I DIDN’T REALLY FEEL LIKE I WAS BLACK, BUT I WASN’T REALLY WHITE EITHER, I WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE IN MIDDLE GROUND. AND I THINK PROBABLY A LOT OF PEOPLE OF…DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES FEEL THAT WAY… BUT I THINK IT’S COOL. IT’S TO BE CELEBRATED AND…NOW LOOKING BACK ON IT, I’M…SUPER BLESSED TO HAVE… AND I RECOGNIZE TWO BEAUTIFUL CULTURES THAT I CAN CELEBRATE, IT’S…REALLY COOL AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT I THINK OTHER PEOPLE NEED TO SEE…TOO. PEOPLE NEED TO BE CELEBRATING THAT KIND OF THING AND THERE NEEDS TO BE BETTER REPRESENTATION... JUST TO SEE SOMEONE LIKE ME IN SUCH A PLACE OF POWER AND TO BE CELEBRATED…” ATTALIA COMMENTED ON POLICE BRUTALITY: “…IT’S A TOUGH SUBJECT… IT’S A SUBJECT THAT… PEOPLE ARE NOT REALLY SURE WHERE TO STAND BECAUSE THEY ARE KIND OF CONFLICTED. BUT I THINK THAT…THERE DOES NEED TO BE A CHANGE IN LETHBRIDGE… I KNOW THAT IT HAPPENS HERE… IF YOU GO DOWNTOWN AND YOU SEE THE WAY THAT THEY HANDLE…THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE THAT ARE HOMELESS…YOU CAN SEE IT. IT’S NOT RIGHT. IT NEEDS TO BE BETTER AND WE NEED TO BE HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE… THAT’S A HUGE PART OF IT, IS ACCOUNTABILITY. POINTING THOSE THINGS OUT AND SAYING, ‘HEY, THAT’S NOT OKAY TO TREAT THAT PERSON LIKE THAT’… PARTICULARLY THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF DOWNTOWN…I DO THINK THAT’S…AN EXTREMELY VULNERABLE POPULATION… AND I FEEL JUST AS INSPIRED, IF NOT MORE TO FIGHT FOR THEM BECAUSE…I KNOW THAT IN THIS COMMUNITY THEY DO FACE RACISM ALL THE TIME… THEY’RE STILL SURVIVING FROM THE CULTURAL GENOCIDE, THE COLONIZATION THAT HAPPENED AND I THINK IS STILL HAPPENING TODAY… I REALLY HOPE THAT PEOPLE ARE BRAVE AND THEY’RE ABLE TO SAY SOMETHING WHEN THEY SEE SOMETHING IS WRONG… EVEN IF IT IS YOUR GRANDMA, YOUR MOM, OR YOUR SISTER, OR YOUR FRIEND…JUST SAY [SOMETHING]... I THINK THAT COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THAT PEOPLE THINK BECAUSE, AND THAT KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE RACIAL MICROAGGRESSION, I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THAT THE STUFF THEY DO IS HURTFUL BUT IT CAN BE... IT CAN BE VERY DETRIMENTAL… THERE’S A LOT TO UNPACK THERE BUT…I THINK LETHBRIDGE IS…TRYING TO MAKE CHANGES MAYBE?... I READ SOMEWHERE THAT THEY’RE PLANNING ON MAKING A…BLACKFOOT CULTURAL CENTRE, THAT IS INCREDIBLE. THAT’S SO COOL, I’M SO EXCITED TO FOR WHEN THAT HAPPENS. I HOPE THAT IT HAPPENS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER AND WE CAN EXPERIENCE THAT… I THINK THERE’S SO MUCH HISTORY HERE… WE ARE ON SACRED BLACKFOOT LAND, THAT NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED, [IT’S] SUPER IMPORTANT… AND TO RECOGNIZE…AS CANADIANS IT’S OUR HISTORY TOO… AND IT’S HARD BECAUSE IT IS VERY TERRIBLE THAT THERE WAS A CULTURAL GENOCIDE. LANGUAGE WAS LOST, I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY LIVES WERE LOST, CHILDREN WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES WITH RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS, THE SIXTIES SCOOP. ALL THAT…HAPPENED NOT THAT LONG AGO AND THE INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA IS STILL PRESENT… I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT MAYBE DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND IT SAY, ‘…IT’S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL…IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO.’ BUT IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THAT’S YOUR GRANDMOTHER OR COULD’VE BEEN YOUR GRANDMOTHER OR YOUR MOTHER… I THINK THAT PUTS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE IN PEOPLE’S MINDS… I REALLY HOPE THAT...OUT OF ALL THIS TRAGEDY, THERE CAN BE A CONVERSATION…AND PEOPLE CAN REALLY LOOK AT THEMSELVES AND SAY…’…WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE THINGS BETTER?’ MORE THAN JUST SHARING A POST ON FACEBOOK… EVEN IF YOU CAN’T MAKE A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION, HAVING A CONVERSATION, TALKING ABOUT IT ESPECIALLY WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT THAN YOU BECAUSE THEN YOU GET A WHOLE OTHER PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES DEPENDING ON WHO WE ARE, HOW WE’VE BEEN RAISED, WHERE WE WERE RAISED, ALL THAT STUFF… I HOPE THAT PEOPLE ARE BETTER LISTENERS AND [SEEK] ACCOUNTABILITY…AND BE HONEST WITH THEMSELVES...” WHERE COULD SOME POSITIVE STEPS BE TAKEN, ACCORDING TO ATTALIA?: “I THINK JUST REPRESENTATION…AND BEING BRUTALLY HONEST, EVEN IF IT IS EXPLICIT OR HARD TO SEE, TO RECOGNIZE THAT AND FOR PEOPLE TO SEE IT AND REALIZE THAT THIS IS OUR HISTORY… THE ONLY WAY WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER IN THE FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN OR OUR GRANDCHILDREN IS TO RECOGNIZE THOSE THINGS AND LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES AND CHANGE.” “…THE FACT THAT THEY’RE BUILDING A MULTICULTURAL CENTRE…CENTRED ON…THE BLACKFOOT PEOPLES IS AMAZING, BUT I DO THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE RECOGNITION. EVEN JUST LAND RECOGNITION IS HUGE. I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO START DOING BECAUSE…IF YOU DON’T ACKNOWLEDGE IT, IT’S LIKE JUST WIPING IT DOWN…IT’S JUST FORGOTTEN. IT’S LOST. BUT BY…SAYING IT, ACKNOWLEDGING IT, RECOGNIZING IT…IT’S PAYING RESPECT TO THE ANCESTORS, TO THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND THAT WE CALL OUR OWN THAT…WAS STOLEN… I THINK IT’S JUST IMPORTANT…TO REMEMBER THOSE THINGS… I DON’T THINK THERE’S AN EASY ANSWER… I THINK JUST CONTINUE TO EDUCATE…SO THEY CAN’T JUST HIDE FROM IT. BECAUSE IGNORANCE IS BLISS. PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO SEE IT BECAUSE IT IS HARD. BUT IF YOU DON’T SEE IT, IF YOU DON’T LOOK AT IT, IT’S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER… I MEAN THAT’S NOT JUST WITH RACE BUT WITH POVERTY, WITH RACISM…HOMELESSNESS…IT’S ALL THAT BECAUSE…IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO’S EXTREMELY VULNERABLE ON THE STREET AND THEY ARE IN NEED…I THINK IT’S THE TENDENCY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK BY AND NOT EVEN LOOK. BUT, THAT’S A PERSON... THAT PERSON HAS A FAMILY, THEY HAVE A STORY, THAT PERSON IS EXTREMELY VALID… I JUST HAD THIS MEMORY OF…[ABOUT] A YEAR AGO, ME AND SOME OF MY FRIENDS WERE DOWNTOWN. WE WERE GOING TO THE PENNY, THAT’S OUR FAVOURITE PLACE, AND WE ACTUALLY SAW A MAN AND HE WAS LYING FACE DOWN, DOWN THE STREET FROM US… PEOPLE WERE JUST WALKING BY…WHEN…THIS PERSON WAS IN MEDICAL DISTRESS. THIS… PERSON HAPPENED TO BE INDIGENOUS… AND IT WAS JUST VERY EYE OPENING…WE WERE DOWN THE STREET AND…I SAW HIM AND WE LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND [SAID] ‘IS THIS HAPPENING? ARE PEOPLE ACTUALLY JUST IGNORING THIS PERSON WHO…COULD BE DYING?’…WE DIDN’T KNOW… I HOPE…THAT PERSON IS ALIVE AND WELL TODAY…BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW THEM BUT, THAT WAS A REALLY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE… THAT REALLY SHOWED ME THAT PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO LOOK AT IT… WHY WOULDN’T YOU HELP SOMEONE THAT NEEDED HELP?... SO BLATANTLY…THAT PERSON NEEDS HELP, WHY WOULD YOU LOOK AWAY, WHY WOULD YOU JUST WALK PAST?... IT WAS IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES, NOT EVEN PEOPLE FROM THE BUSINESSES SAW HIM AND DECIDED, ‘I’M GOING TO CALL THE AMBULANCE’… I DON’T KNOW WHO TO BLAME FOR THAT, BUT WE JUST NEED TO DO BETTER, AS PEOPLE. I THINK WE’RE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE HUMAN RACE, CONSIDERING MYSELF AS A GLOBAL CITIZEN… WE [NEED] TO FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER, THAT’S ALL IT COMES DOWN TO…” FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION'S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200018000

Acquisition Date

2020-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail