Kalief Browder

Portrait: 12″ x 9″

Signed and Dated

24K Gold Leaf will be applied on the print’s inverted crown prior to shipping

All proceeds will go to the Bronx Freedom Fund : http://www.thebronxfreedomfund.org/kalief

Printed on Hahnemuhle Bamboo, Soft, light traditional rice paper. Natural look & environmentally friendly paper production.

Acid – and lignin – free, museum quality for highest age resistance.

Finish: Matte, lightly textured felt structure.

The upside down crown represents an overthrow of the current power and judicial system. I thought it was fitting for Kalief Browder to emerge from it because his life uncovered the deep systematic flaws in the justice systems and was a crucial part in inspiring the efforts to shut down Rikers Island.

I recently watched Time: The Kalief Browder Story on @netflix and I’ve never been more shaken and disturbed at how much the justice system had failed him. He spent 3 years in Rikers Island despite not being convicted because he did not want to plea guilty to a crime he did not commit. When his day in court finally came, his charges were dismissed but the horrible effects on his mental health remained. He was forced to spend 2 years in solitary confinement at the young age of 16 and when freed, the demons from the trauma stayed with him, leading him to take his own life shortly after.