Israel Wilson wants to create a voice for the unarmed through art. The man of many trades, artist being one of them, has started a campaign to raise funds for his latest project entitled Art for the Unarmed.
Art for the Unarmed will be a collection of sketches and poems remembering the countless victims of police shootings.
Since 1999, nearly 90 unarmed people have been shot and killed by local police departments, at least 66 of those people were Black. No one knows how many of these shootings have actually taken place due to the fact that police departments are not required to report statistics to the FBI. This is not a new occurrence but social media has finally given us a platform to highlight these incidents.
Israel says,
“I am creating a collection of sketches and poems commemorating as many unarmed victims of police as possible then I’m putting together an exhibition and speaking tour in order crystallize the conversation and make sure that each victim has a name, face, and a story. Along the way I will vlog, meet with their families and friends, whenever possible, and at the close of the exhibit I will send each piece to the families of the victims along with checks from my collected honorariums.”
The California native now by way of New Jersey, is a speaker/performer who has been able to reach into his soul and deliver his truth to audiences on stage and through music. He is the co-founder of We Free Minds, a company focused on building brands and connections between creatives and entrepreneurs for greater rewards.
I believe this is a great cause as more of us need to use our talents to share our voices. More awareness needs to be made on the issues of policing and police brutality, in more particular, how it is affecting brown and blacks communities. And Israel Wilson is continuing that conversation by giving a voice for the unarmed through his creative art.
