I AM A MAN
By Weston
This drawing shows Martin Luther King Jr. protesting his rights by standing still with a sign saying “I am a man” in front of a US government tank, which is trying to stop Martin Luther King Jr. from making progress. In the background, there is a whites-only cafe and a whites-only barbershop.
This drawing is meant to convey the unfair odds that African Americans faced during the the Civil Rights movement. I used the theme of the Tiananmen Square Massacre to suggest the similarities between these events in the use of extreme force against peaceful protest. The drawing is directly formed around the infamous tank man photograph. This symbol shows the bravery of a man standing up to injustice and protecting his daughter. The man in front of the tank in this drawing is Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most courageous, influential and important members of the Civil Rights movement. In this drawing, Martin Luther King Jr. is standing still in front of the tank to peacefully show that he has as many rights as anybody else, demanding that he “not be judged by the color of [his] skin but by the content of [his] character” (King, 1963).