Mya Bailey

Internalized racism dominated my childhood in subtle, sometimes undetectable ways. I did not always understand why my friends' mothers shied away from putting glitter in my mass of curls at slumber parties. I could not find an appropriate explanation as to why I could not go swimming with my friends except for that I spent too many hours on the floor between my mother’s legs as she yanked and prodded the kinks from my head. I failed to fight back tears every time I went to a hair salon, as I wailed and pleaded to have straight blonde hair like my closest friends.

And even now, with full awareness, there are moments of unconscious envy for my companions who effortlessly achieve Eurocentric beauty standards; ones I know I would race to claim if only I could.

Being raised in an Afro-Latino household while existing in a predominantly white area led me to create a series of works that reflect the external and internal fears, dangers, exhausting emotions, and occasional victories that existed in my household from generation to generation. Miss Jim Crow 2019 Acrylic Paint, Colored Pencil, and Graphite on Toned Paper 24" × 48"

Mommy, I Want to Look Like Her 2020 Newspaper, Graphite, Acrylic Paint, Red Thread, Toned Paper 40" × 18"

Me Myself and I 2020 Marker and Colored Pencil on Cold Press Paper 12" × 6" Negro Sunshine 2019 Mixed Media 22" × 14"