TEDxMileHigh 2020

Read The Script:

I grew up in Atlanta, and didn’t really know many white people. 
But I was raised in a Southern Black church,
that was under the shadow of Southern white supremacy,
and run by Black people who were taught
to hate themselves, in many ways.

The generation that raised me was still familiar with lynchings.
So, in order to not be murdered by racists,
Black people of the generation before me learned
to make themselves smaller.

We couldn’t be too loud, too smart, too attractive, too bold.
On some level, they felt that anything that made us stand out might get us murdered. 

In the midst of all that, I emerged:
This straight-A student, who rapped, loved Weird Al Yankovic, and drew comic books. 

So, the grownups around me regularly discouraged my artistry.

To them, comic books were the pursuit of a kid who didn’t really understand the world. 
They told me that art was silly,
and that I was in for some hard lessons, about the real world. 

Back then, I only had ONE friend who was into comics, and he went to a different school.

So, when I was about 11, he and I went to our first comic book convention.

They were so unused to seeing Black kids there,
That one grown white man mistook me for security
And showed me his badge to get in.
I was 11!!

But me and my friend loved these conventions!
Finally, we could talk to someone else
about why the Incredible Hulk always wore purple pants!

A year or so later, with every free moment we had,
me and that same friend were drawing comics.

His father took notice of this, and he sat us down in their living room.
He loved us both, and decided it was time to set us straight.

“It’s good that the two of you enjoy these comic books.
But, you really need to pick a serious profession,
something that will support you and your families.
You’re not going to do that with comic books.” 

My friend’s father wasn’t trying to hurt us.
He was trying to prepare us for the world.

And underneath that, was this fear that he shared with my own parents –
that being a Black artist would make me stand out
And that I might be murdered by racists.

It’s not like that was a far jump.
My parents were born in the early 50s.
In 1955, a white woman accused a 14-year-old boy of whistling at her.
He was Black, and two grown white men brutally murdered him for her accusation.
They were never sent to prison.
His name was Emmitt Till.

So, my parents grew up in a time when just an accusation
of whistling at a white woman
could get a Black boy murdered.

Why wouldn’t they worry about me standing out, as some bohemian artsy dude?

So, as a Black artist, I’ve had to consider:
When the world around me seems like it’s burning,
Is art really worth it?           

Anyway, I grew up, worked serious jobs,
And made art on the side.

Now, let me tell you about the most serious job I ever had.

I ran an insurance agency. 
(I know, everything you’ve learned about me so far makes you think,
“insurance agent”, right?) 

Anyway, I hated it.

So, against all the “wise” advice I’d heard in my life,
I closed my insurance agency,
and decided I’d try my hand at writing a graphic novel.
I wanted to address the social issues I was passionate about:
Police brutality, sexism, hate, etc.

But, to make it clear, I was quitting the serious insurance job, to pursue writing comic books.
You know, ART.
Which is silly.
Especially in the face of a world
that seemed dedicated to murdering me.

This was 2016, and there was this reality show host running for president.
You guys probably never heard of him, right?

Anyway, while that was happening, a lot of troubling things started popping up in the country,
in very new ways:

Nazis were feeling bolder.
People were becoming more shameless with their racism.
Hate crimes were rising.

My Black friends were out organizing public protests and boycotts.
My white, liberal friends were marching on the Capitol every weekend.

And I wanted to write a comic book!

Was I being vain? Stupid?

I’d never made a living off of art before.
And now, I’d just quit my job, while the world was falling to pieces.

Art is silly, right?

I really struggled with this for a while:
So I took a month to travel in the UK for the first time.
I was a little afraid because I was traveling alone, and I didn’t know how people in these
countries felt about Black people.
But I went to Berlin, Prague, Budapest, and a tiny English town called Melksham.

In Berlin, I sat down with the owner
of the biggest comic store chain there
And we talked about how, as a child, his favorite hero was Captain America

But certain issues of that comic, he never got to read
Because Captain America was fighting Nazis in them.
And NOTHING with Nazis was allowed in Germany,
Even if they were getting beat up.

So, let’s think about that-
In Germany, Nazis had been banished from everything.
But here in America, we’ve erected statues
To confederates who betrayed our country

Anyway, I thought about this man, this comic book fan, who grew up in Germany,
But fell in love with the story of an American icon.
And I realized that,
a well-written comic book or graphic novel,
can reach someone all the way on the other side of the world!

And also, I thought a lot about revolution.
How, whenever society needs to change,
that change is, in part,
inspired by the artists.

I thought about how dictators and despots
always murder and discredit artists.

Adolph Hitler’s people came up with a term
specifically to discredit artists: “degenerate art”. 
They burned books and paintings!

But, why?
Why were the leaders of the Nazi party dedicating their attention to destroying art?

If art has no power –
if it’s really a silly waste of time –
then why are dictators so afraid of it? 

Why were Nazis burning books and paintings? 
Why was McCarthy so dedicated to blacklisting artists during the 1950s?
Why did Stalin’s government work so hard to censor art in Russia?

Because ART SCARES DICTATORS.
Because they knew something that I had been doubting for my entire life: 

Art is powerful.
Art is important.
Art can change hearts, and minds-
All the way across the world!! 

In 1894, Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote,
“The Kingdom of God Is Within You”.
A book that advocated for non-violence.

In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi said that Tolstoy’s book
was one of the 3 most important influences of his life.

Gandhi was inspired by Tolstoy.
And you know who was inspired by Gandhi?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

So how would the Civil Rights movement in America have changed,
if Tolstoy never wrote his book?

Would I even be here talking to you?

Tolstoy’s art helped to make changes in the world, by inspiring people.

During the Civil Rights movement, Black people would stand together, hand in hand, while
police and dogs attacked them, and they’d sing.
The art – the music helped these people make it through.

Activism is how we change the world.
But there are different ways to participate in activism.
For me, that method is art!

So, I came back to the States,
I wrote about those social issues that I mentioned before:
police brutality, sexism, self-hate, and more.

Honestly, I didn’t know how the world would receive it.

I just knew that I was tired of giving my life to things that I didn’t care about.

I hired a comics artist,
ran a Kickstarter campaign,
and my graphic novel became The Burning Metronome.

It’s a supernatural murder mystery, about otherworldly creatures,
who absorb magical power from human cruelty.
They watch human beings, give us the chance to choose cruelty or compassion.

One story in the book is about a police officer
who has the opportunity to go back and undo a time
when he was unnecessarily violent towards someone.

And you know what happened as a result of that book?
I was interviewed on TV news and local newspapers.
A university invited me to teach writing for their Masters program.

I’m a professor now!

But, more importantly, I was able to reach into my heart,
pull out the truest parts of my soul,
And see it have a positive impact on other people’s lives.

I was signing books at a Colorado comics store,
And a man there made small talk with me for about half an hour.
He eventually said that reading my book made him think about how he did his job.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked.
He was a cop!

My book inspired a police officer to think about how he does his job!
That never happened when I sold insurance.

I write comic books and graphic novels for a living.
I’m a full-time artist now!
If I hadn’t written that book, you wouldn’t be listening to me talk now.

And listen, my parents weren’t wrong
to warn me about the lethal tendencies of this country.
Last year, a white supremacist sent me death threats,
about a book I hadn’t even written yet.

But, clearly, the only reason he was threatened
Was because he understood the power of art
to change hearts and minds.

So, I say to you,
if you are someone who has something to say,
if there is any art you want to create –
If there is something in your heart
we need you now! 

Your art CAN be activism.

It can inspire people and change the world!
If you’re afraid, it’s ok. 
Just don’t let that stop you. 

Go make art, and
Scare a dictator!

Is art worth it?
Hell, yes.

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