As an African-American from the South, I have grown to recognize this “stare”, and in my everyday interactions must dually acknowledge and ignore it. Most times this duality makes it difficult for me to create work because I begin to think how can I avoid this discussion of self and race long enough to hold the attention of an audience. I didn’t go seeking the answer to this question, the question came to me.

In context, I was the only Black participant out of about 40 students in all three Cities: Essen, Paris, and Istanbul; isolation comes natural when you are the only one. Languages are different, culture is different, and you stick out. Because of my questions of origin (ie French Name, American, African-American), Home is something that came up for me when traveling to Europe. I assumed that because I noticed more Blacks in Paris than Essen, and Turkey was closer (in my mind) to Africa, I might see more Blacks in Turkey. It crossed my mind and left, I wasn’t going on the hunt for Black people abroad.

So with my solo project, I decided to attack both issues at the same time – that of my concerns about Turkey, it’s Culture, and the EU and my Origins and Present State of Living. What I found more than anything was a Spiritual Birth. When I posted this video on YouTube, I did not want to describe it saying, this isn’t entirely about Me being Black, but being Human. Not many people can look past the facts of color of skin, or language, even music. In the state of America’s Economy, for me it’s about being Human. In Istanbul, I realized I can live on exactly what is necessary by fishing for my food and sleeping on the island.

There are many that take the fall for the greed of others, do it silently, and it’s done often by the Spiritually blind; I’m not talking Religion. If only I had time and the space to share all of the experiences and things I learned from the people I met through my travels with my group I would continue endlessly. This was a phenomenal experience for me and will keep me inspired for the rest of my life.