Artist's works celebrate Black culture while echoing the enduring legacy of slavery
A South Bay artist has been centering his work around the joy of culture and community, while not forgetting the enduring legacy of slavery in the U.S.
"One of the things that I feel ultimately is freedom," said Rasheid Lattimore. "I feel like art is my voice. It's my stamp on the world. I always say the pharaohs didn't paint themselves on the walls, it was artists that did that."
Since he was just 13 years old, Rasheid's love for hip-hop inspired him to begin creating. He's a self-taught graffiti artist who says every stroke of his paint pen is freedom.
"If you saw my collection of work, you could guess I was a Black person without me being there, said Lattimore.
With at least 1,000 pieces in his canvas catalog, Lattimore says each one pays homage to his Black culture and the beauty of it. He says the patterns, colors and themes he uses in his pieces honor blackness.
"Art is always a constant for me. It allows me to have that freedom of expression," said Lattimore. "Getting free from chattel slavery was the first step toward being able to create a culture and to be able to be free in a new way."
Lattimore says his freedom of expression comes only because of Black people's freedom from slavery. June 19th, 1865 is the day when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached hundreds of thousands of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the decree in January 1863.
The day is known now as Juneteenth, marking our country's second Independence Day. It is the longest-running holiday in Black communities and in 2021, well over a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
His "breakthrough" piece and many other of his pieces are reflective of how Black people in the 1860s have broken barriers.
"I started doing characters that are breaking through the canvas," said Lattimore.
Lattimore wants culture and history to inspire others, so he recently released a book entitled "Daydream" that paints the picture of who he is behind his art.
"A person like me has the ability, freedom and luxury to be able to create something," he said.
Lattimore and his artwork will be at the 42nd Annual Juneteenth Homecoming celebration put on by the San Jose African American Community Service Agency. The celebration is Saturday, June 17 from noon to 7 pm in San Jose.
If you'd like to learn more about Lattimore or look at his work follow him on Instagram: @akeemraheem.