George Floyd died on camera for 8:46 minutes, and everyone watched. His death was consumed on phones, fingertips, and living room TVs. Pundits wrote that those 8 minutes and 46 seconds would change everything. But what was the difference between his death and all the ones that took place off-camera?
Here at Cross Currents, we condemn police brutality, we demand justice for Breonna Taylor and, believe that all lives cannot matter until Black Lives Matter. As a literary magazine from a school with a BIPOC majority, we wanted to create a space where Wilbur Cross students can express their anger, distress, and sorrow. This section focuses on the racial injustices shown so clearly in the past few months, though all work regarding social justice is welcome.
ACAB
Here at Cross Currents, we condemn police brutality, we demand justice for Breonna Taylor and, believe that all lives cannot matter until Black Lives Matter. As a literary magazine from a school with a BIPOC majority, we wanted to create a space where Wilbur Cross students can express their anger, distress, and sorrow. This section focuses on the racial injustices shown so clearly in the past few months, though all work regarding social justice is welcome.
ACAB
Natalia Maria Padilla Castellanos
"Las vidas negras importan"
"Las Vidas Negras Importan" is a digital drawing depicting a Black Lives Matter protest ascending through the streets of Antigua Guatemala. Depicting a variety of protestors–Alexandria Ocasio-Corte, Ericka Huggins, Addys Castillo, Nontsikelo Muititi, Cori Bush, Rigoberta Menchú, and Gianna Floyd– being watched over by George Floyd and Marsha P Johnson, my piece seeks to expose the anti–Blackness in the Latinx community.
Natalia Maria Padilla Castellanos
"Foreigner"
"Foreigner" is a life-size sculpture depicting an immigrant child that was separated from her mother. Created from wax molds of my body, the plaster extremities that peek through the fabric emphasize my proximity to the issue as an immigrant myself. Devised during the ICE raids of 2018, my sculpture seeks to express the inhumane nature of immigrant family separation, focusing on its harmful effects on children.
Natalia Maria Padilla Castellanos
"If You Miss Me at The Back of the Bus"
"If You Miss Me at The Back of the Bus" is a black and white film photograph of my siblings. Named after a largely known protest song by Pete Seeger, my photograph seek to capture the ennui experienced after the moment of protest, in the aftermath called ordinary life.