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Bringing Hope
These are paintings that I worked on for a show for Bainbridge Public Library in 2026. All works were 12" x 16", acrylic.
The world today is turbulent with both extreme challenges and great opportunities. It is easy to focus on the negative events shaping our day-to-day lives, but upon reflection there are always people whose actions inspire hope, love, or compassion.
This show is a reminder to myself that each one of us can work to change the world. The people I’ve painted are not perfect, and some of their achievements might seem small relative to the challenges we face. But I find them inspiring because they are working toward a positive goal that is larger than themselves or inbuing their actions with their deeply held beliefs.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
"A just society is that society in which ascending sense of reverence and descending sense of contempt is dissolved into the creation of a compassionate society."
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, and social reformer who served as the principal architect of the Indian Constitution. Born into a marginalized Dalit (untouchable caste) family, he overcame severe discrimination through education at Columbia University and London School of Economics. He became a leader crusading for Dalit rights, social equality, and women's empowerment. As India's first Law Minister, he legally codified rights against untouchability.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, and social reformer who served as the principal architect of the Indian Constitution. Born into a marginalized Dalit (untouchable caste) family, he overcame severe discrimination through education at Columbia University and London School of Economics. He became a leader crusading for Dalit rights, social equality, and women's empowerment. As India's first Law Minister, he legally codified rights against untouchability.
Reginald Dwayne Betts
"That’s what Freedom Reads is: it’s creating another norm that exists in the system that is woefully lacking norms that lead to possibility, and lead to hope."
At age 16 Reginald Betts committed an armed carjacking, was prosecuted as an adult, and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He started reading and writing poetry during his incarceration.
After his release, Betts earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College, and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. He served on President Barack Obama’s Coordinating Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He founded Freedom Reads, an organization that gives incarcerated people access to books. In September 2021, Betts was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
At age 16 Reginald Betts committed an armed carjacking, was prosecuted as an adult, and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He started reading and writing poetry during his incarceration.
After his release, Betts earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College, and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. He served on President Barack Obama’s Coordinating Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He founded Freedom Reads, an organization that gives incarcerated people access to books. In September 2021, Betts was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
George Washington Carver
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
While a professor at Tuskegee Institute, Carver developed techniques to improve the soil in the American south, which had been depleted by decades of cotton crops. He emphasized diversifying with other crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, the quality of life of famers would improve with better soil, and more diversified diets. He published over forty practical bulletins for farmers, including advice for poor farmers to combat soil depletion, the production of bigger crops, and the preservation of food.
Carver was also a leader in environmental conservation. He received numerous honors for his work, and in an era of high racial polarization, his fame reached across racial divides.
While a professor at Tuskegee Institute, Carver developed techniques to improve the soil in the American south, which had been depleted by decades of cotton crops. He emphasized diversifying with other crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, the quality of life of famers would improve with better soil, and more diversified diets. He published over forty practical bulletins for farmers, including advice for poor farmers to combat soil depletion, the production of bigger crops, and the preservation of food.
Carver was also a leader in environmental conservation. He received numerous honors for his work, and in an era of high racial polarization, his fame reached across racial divides.
Langston Hughes
"Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed -
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above."
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance and his involvement in the civil rights movement.
Hughes grew up in the Midwest, and moved to New York City as a young man. He studied at Columbia University in New York City, gained notice from magazine and book publishers, and subsequently became known in the Harlem creative community. His first poetry collection, The "Weary Blues", was published in 1926.
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above."
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance and his involvement in the civil rights movement.
Hughes grew up in the Midwest, and moved to New York City as a young man. He studied at Columbia University in New York City, gained notice from magazine and book publishers, and subsequently became known in the Harlem creative community. His first poetry collection, The "Weary Blues", was published in 1926.
Chief Joseph
"I do not believe that the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do."
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), known as Chief Joseph, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe of the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States, in the latter half of the 19th century. He succeeded his father Tuekakas (Chief Joseph the Elder) in the early 1870s.
Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. Federal Government from their ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon onto a significantly reduced reservation in the Idaho Territory. A series of violent encounters with white settlers in the spring of 1877 culminated in those Nez Perce who resisted removal, fleeing the United States in an attempt to reach political asylum alongside the Lakota people, in Canada under the leadership of Sitting Bull.
Led by Joseph and other Nez Perce chiefs, around 800 men, women, and children were pursued by the U.S. Army in a 1,170-mile fighting retreat known as the Nez Perce War. The skill with which the Nez Perce fought and the manner in which they conducted themselves in the face of incredible adversity earned them widespread admiration from their military opponents, the American public, and coverage of the war in newspapers.
In October 1877, after months of resistance, most of the surviving remnants of Joseph's band were cornered in northern Montana Territory, just 40 miles from the Canadian border. Unable to fight any longer, Chief Joseph surrendered to the Army with the understanding that he and his people would be allowed to return to the reservation in western Idaho. They were instead transported between various forts and reservations on the southern Great Plains before being moved to the Colville Indian Reservation in the state of Washington, where Chief Joseph died in 1904. For his passionate, principled resistance to his tribe's forced removal, Joseph became renowned as both a humanitarian and a peacemaker.
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), known as Chief Joseph, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe of the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States, in the latter half of the 19th century. He succeeded his father Tuekakas (Chief Joseph the Elder) in the early 1870s.
Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. Federal Government from their ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon onto a significantly reduced reservation in the Idaho Territory. A series of violent encounters with white settlers in the spring of 1877 culminated in those Nez Perce who resisted removal, fleeing the United States in an attempt to reach political asylum alongside the Lakota people, in Canada under the leadership of Sitting Bull.
Led by Joseph and other Nez Perce chiefs, around 800 men, women, and children were pursued by the U.S. Army in a 1,170-mile fighting retreat known as the Nez Perce War. The skill with which the Nez Perce fought and the manner in which they conducted themselves in the face of incredible adversity earned them widespread admiration from their military opponents, the American public, and coverage of the war in newspapers.
In October 1877, after months of resistance, most of the surviving remnants of Joseph's band were cornered in northern Montana Territory, just 40 miles from the Canadian border. Unable to fight any longer, Chief Joseph surrendered to the Army with the understanding that he and his people would be allowed to return to the reservation in western Idaho. They were instead transported between various forts and reservations on the southern Great Plains before being moved to the Colville Indian Reservation in the state of Washington, where Chief Joseph died in 1904. For his passionate, principled resistance to his tribe's forced removal, Joseph became renowned as both a humanitarian and a peacemaker.
Masashi Kishimoto
"As my grandfather taught me, I believe that “war is never the right answer,” .... I feel lucky that I grew up in a generation that didn’t experience war. However, there are certain things that only my generation can tell in a story, and I can tell it from my own perspective. Even though it’s fiction, I want to make people feel like that there is still hope."
Kishimoto (岸本 斉史; born November 8, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist. His series, "Naruto", which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. He was born in Okayama Prefecture, close to Hiroshima where his grandfather originated. Kishimoto's grandfather often told him about stories of war and how it was related to grudges.
Naruto has themes of overcoming war through cooperation, and an emphasis on the belief that the individual can make a difference.
Kishimoto (岸本 斉史; born November 8, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist. His series, "Naruto", which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. He was born in Okayama Prefecture, close to Hiroshima where his grandfather originated. Kishimoto's grandfather often told him about stories of war and how it was related to grudges.
Naruto has themes of overcoming war through cooperation, and an emphasis on the belief that the individual can make a difference.
Kendrick Lamar
"People have to go through trials and tribulations to get where they at. Do your thing - continue to rock it - because obviously, God wants you here."
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, Lamar's music features conscious, introspective lyrics, with political criticism and social commentary concerning African-American culture. Journalists have referred to Lamar as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2018, he became the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, Lamar's music features conscious, introspective lyrics, with political criticism and social commentary concerning African-American culture. Journalists have referred to Lamar as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2018, he became the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Jacob Lawrence
"If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous struggle to lift his social position and to add dimension to his spiritual being."
Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence found inspiration in everyday life in Harlem. He brought the African-American experience to life using blacks and browns juxtaposed with vivid colors. He was a professor at the University of Washington.
Lawrence is among the best known twentieth-century African-American painters. At the age of 23 he gained national recognition with his 60-panel The Migration Series, which depicted the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North.
Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence found inspiration in everyday life in Harlem. He brought the African-American experience to life using blacks and browns juxtaposed with vivid colors. He was a professor at the University of Washington.
Lawrence is among the best known twentieth-century African-American painters. At the age of 23 he gained national recognition with his 60-panel The Migration Series, which depicted the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North.
Corrie Ten Boom
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker. She and her family helped Dutch Jews escape the Nazis. As part of the Dutch Resistance, she oversaw smuggling Jews to safe houses, including 11 people in her family home. About 800 people were relocated by her efforts.
The Ten Boom family were arrested by the Gestapo. Her father died in detention, her sister was gassed, and Corrie was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp.
After the war, Ten Boom created a center for camp survivors in the Netherlands. In 1946 she returned to Germany, met and forgave two guards who had been employed at Ravensbrück.
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker. She and her family helped Dutch Jews escape the Nazis. As part of the Dutch Resistance, she oversaw smuggling Jews to safe houses, including 11 people in her family home. About 800 people were relocated by her efforts.
The Ten Boom family were arrested by the Gestapo. Her father died in detention, her sister was gassed, and Corrie was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp.
After the war, Ten Boom created a center for camp survivors in the Netherlands. In 1946 she returned to Germany, met and forgave two guards who had been employed at Ravensbrück.
Harriet Tubman
"I have heard their groans and sighs, and seen their tears, and I would give every drop of blood in my veins to free them."
(March 1822 – March 10, 1913) Born into slavery, Tubman was beaten and whipped by enslavers--suffering a traumatic head wound when an overseer threw a metal weight, hitting her. The injury caused dizziness, pain, and hypersomnia, throughout her life.
In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, but returned thirteen times to rescue others. she travelled by night and in extreme secrecy. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, she guided escapees farther north into Canada.
During the Civil War, she worked for the Union Army, as a cook, a nurse, a scout and a spy. Her guidance at Combahee Ferry, liberated some 700 enslaved people. She was also active in the women's suffrage movement.
(March 1822 – March 10, 1913) Born into slavery, Tubman was beaten and whipped by enslavers--suffering a traumatic head wound when an overseer threw a metal weight, hitting her. The injury caused dizziness, pain, and hypersomnia, throughout her life.
In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, but returned thirteen times to rescue others. she travelled by night and in extreme secrecy. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, she guided escapees farther north into Canada.
During the Civil War, she worked for the Union Army, as a cook, a nurse, a scout and a spy. Her guidance at Combahee Ferry, liberated some 700 enslaved people. She was also active in the women's suffrage movement.
Ida B. Wells
"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
(July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) Wells was born into slavery and freed as an infant under the Emancipation Proclamation. At 14, she was orphaned, but became a teacher, and then journalist, to keep her family together.
In the 1890s, Wells documented lynching of African-Americans in articles and pamphlets. Wells exposed the brutality of lynching, its frequency, and psychological toll. Her journalism illuminated the scourage of lynching and advocated for measures to stop it.
A skilled and persuasive speaker, Wells lectured nationally and internationally. In 2020 she was posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize special citation "for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching.”
(July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) Wells was born into slavery and freed as an infant under the Emancipation Proclamation. At 14, she was orphaned, but became a teacher, and then journalist, to keep her family together.
In the 1890s, Wells documented lynching of African-Americans in articles and pamphlets. Wells exposed the brutality of lynching, its frequency, and psychological toll. Her journalism illuminated the scourage of lynching and advocated for measures to stop it.
A skilled and persuasive speaker, Wells lectured nationally and internationally. In 2020 she was posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize special citation "for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching.”
Malala Yousafzai
"When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."
At age 11, Yousafzai started a blog for the BBC detailing her life under Talilban occupation. On October 9, 2012 a gunman boarded Yousafzai’s schoolbus and asked for her by name, then shot her three times. One bullet hit her forehead, exiting her shoulder. Although she was not killed, she was in critical condition and eventually sent to England for rehabilitation.
Yousafzai became co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people to receive an education. She is the youngest recipient to ever receive this prize.
in 2015 Yousafzai created the Malala Fund for the education of girls. She received a degree from Oxford in June 2020, graduating with honors,
At age 11, Yousafzai started a blog for the BBC detailing her life under Talilban occupation. On October 9, 2012 a gunman boarded Yousafzai’s schoolbus and asked for her by name, then shot her three times. One bullet hit her forehead, exiting her shoulder. Although she was not killed, she was in critical condition and eventually sent to England for rehabilitation.
Yousafzai became co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people to receive an education. She is the youngest recipient to ever receive this prize.
in 2015 Yousafzai created the Malala Fund for the education of girls. She received a degree from Oxford in June 2020, graduating with honors,
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