I love my black women friends

This painting was created for them

The painting above is one of my first watercolors. I created it in honor of my black women friends. I love them, you see. They are strong and they are beautiful. They are sassy and they are bright. They are generous and they are kind. They are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in and they are strong in their faith.

The colors of the dresses in this painting represent joy, love and peace. This is a reference to Galatians 5:22; most, if not all, of my black friends grew up in the church. The women are dancing against a dark background in their vivid gowns to show their joy and resilience in the face of many trials.

Yes, I know — I am stereotyping here. Not every black woman is a certain way, just like not every white or brown person is a certain way. There are evil black women just like there are evil people of all races and genders. I am not subscribing to the myth of the mystical black person, a role that Morgan Freeman plays so well in movies like the Shawshank Redemption. My friends have flaws, like any other human being. I don’t want to take away their humanity, or dehumanize any other person by turning them into symbols.

All of my friends are multifaceted individuals; however, when I started to think about my black friends… despite the…