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Amongst the societal unrest stemming from the unjust slaying of George Floyd at the hands of police and the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic, a large portion of downtown Oakland storefronts were covered with boarded windows in June 2020. This photograph depicts a young Oakland School of the Arts graduate in the process of painting a mural near the Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland. The mural artwork is titled "Fist By The Fox" and painted collectively by Black and Asian American Oakland School for the Arts Alumni, whose names are listed below:

Lisa Max
Fusako Chapman
Jayla Hernandez
Cheyenne Amadlia Lewis
Junyoung Kim
Marilyn Cliett
Akaysha B. Calhoun

The mural memorializes the many deceased black Americans from police violence with the powerful symbol of Black Power. While photographing this mural in the empty streets of downtown Oakland, my photographic work hopes to capture the challenges and suffering of black men and women in America but still offer hope of a brighter future through artistic and creative expression.

Kellen Charles Wohl

kcwohl@gmail.com