Through an Artist’s Eyes

by Vicki Pritchard

This is a charcoal drawing I did in my last year at Ringling School of Art in 1974. I was nineteen
then, and I saved it all these years because of the sad look in the young man’s eyes. Now I am
the one who feels sad thinking of him, and of the many young Black men of today who seem
trapped in their own anger and despair. I wonder about the hate unleashed in the riots, and I
also wonder why no one stops the Black-on-Black murder in the big cities. It seems like
everyone involved there has given up hope, even the young men themselves who are caught up
in the tragic violence. This is a complicated problem, with many contributing factors. But there
may be one central factor that contributes more than we might imagine to this downward
spiral, and it is right under our nose, staring us in the face. Let me explain.
What is it that gives us hope and incentive to work hard and live for the future, to create a safe
and happy society? Most people would say it is for their children that they aspire. We know
that Nature’s main concern is for all living things to live, to be strong, and to reproduce. It is in
the DNA. It is our basic motivation as humans.
Our ancient ancestors worked hard to survive as a race of humans. Without their survival, there
would be none of us today, and we as their legacy are most grateful. To live, to be strong, and
to have children is still humanity’s dream. But, in recent times, this dream has begun to die.
Babies, traditionally considered the highest blessing and cause for celebration, have now been
cast by some in a different light. For many years now, abortion has been legal and has been
seen as a socially acceptable solution to the problem of unwanted or inconvenient pregnancy,
especially for those among us who are less advantaged, and who may have less of a financial or
emotional safety net. A well-meaning society has viewed itself as a benefactor who is helping
the most vulnerable by providing this service.
Sadly, Blacks in this country are the most disproportionately affected by abortion, which is the
leading cause of death in the Black population. It is tragic that there are approximately twenty
million American Black babies whose lives have been taken from them. Many of us are aware
that Blacks use these facilities proportionately more than any other racial group, yet society at
large just appears to accept this.
I imagine that many people are sad when they feel they must make use of one of these
facilities. But society has said, “Your future will be better without this inconvenience. You will
get over this.” But, buyer beware! By taking the life of your own young, you run the risk of
violating your own heart, as well as going against Mother Nature and against God, who created
us as both biological and spiritual creatures.
So, what do we do with pain that cannot be grieved openly? Pain that doesn’t matter to others?
We stuff it down into our unconscious mind, into our heart, where it grows, safely hidden, and
where it begins to define our interior life, our emotions, our attitudes, and, finally, our actions.
Could these angry, young Black men be feeling angry and hopeless, in part, because society has
not only condoned the destruction of their seed, but also has said that it was the best thing to
do? Now we’re getting down to the bedrock. Perhaps those who say abortion is often the best
choice are actually rejecting the black race as a whole on some very deep, existential level. And
perhaps Blacks know this intuitively on a very deep and existential level as well, feeling in the
depths of their hearts that much of the larger society has rejected and discarded them. When
you feel unwanted and unloved, and are told that it is ok to abort your child, your legacy,
because it is inconvenient, that it creates a burden on society because you are incapable of
managing this unplanned baby yourself, you might even begin to feel hatred, anger, and
hopelessness toward yourself. People who hate themselves often feel they have no future and
tend to do self-destructive things. Like burning down their own neighborhoods, or shooting
their own neighborhood peers who have become gang rivals in the raging drug wars. Should all
this come as any surprise in our culture of death?
Now, let us dig even deeper into the bedrock and look into what pre-dates our current
culture of death, with its blatant disregard for human life. I’m referring to our heritage from the
sixties: modern society’s culture of casual sex. Even casual sex has consequences that last for
generations. So, why should we be regarding any sex as casual? Through our sexual
relationships, God has allowed us to participate in His sacred act of Creation, furthering that
Creation which He started and which He referred to as “very good” (KJV Genesis 1:31).
Therefore, isn’t it time to consider upgrading sex to the sacred act it was intended to be?
Think about the paradigm shift in perception that would take place. Wouldn’t we, as a result,
be more likely to perceive ourselves, our mates and our children as valuable and sacred, and
therefore other people as equally valuable and sacred? Let us tell the world that we are all
sacred creations! I know this seems idealistic in this world where God has turned over the reins
to us (KJV Genesis 1:28). Read the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. Read it and weep.
God created the world, the animals and, finally, us, and then entrusted His Creation into our
care. But that was before we fell. The Fall of humanity is recorded in Genesis, Chapter 3. But
wouldn’t we all be happier if we based our lives, our behaviors, and our aspirations on how the
world was meant to be, as portrayed in Chapters 1 and 2, rather than continuing to act out the
tragedy of Chapter 3, where human failure is displayed in all its glorious dysfunction? Herein
lies our true choice. Wouldn’t we all be happier if we viewed ourselves and the whole human
family and all of Creation through the lens of this Sacred Ideal enshrined in the beginning of the
Bible? What have we gained by looking through the glass darkly? What have we gained, as a
modern society, by measuring our lives, not against the Sacred Ideal, but by giving up hope and
aiming low, embracing our fallen and rebellious nature?
So, why not make a change? Let us lift up one another, especially our children, and give them
a brighter and more noble vision for their future. And, since Black lives matter so much to God
and to us, wouldn’t that go for tiny Black lives in the womb as well? Sometimes, in the past, we
have thought that we knew what was best for other people, but maybe we really didn’t.
Instead, maybe we, as a society, have unwittingly been contributing to a great injustice. By
encouraging and facilitating abortion, have we not been robbing from a large portion of our
fellow Americans that which is their due: namely, their Lives, their Liberties, and their pursuits
of Happiness.
What if this beautiful young man in my portrait had instead been aborted? Thankfully he was
not, and I fervently hope that he has had a happy and meaningful life and is now enjoying his
children and grandchildren, his legacy here on Earth.