An acrylic painting. In the foreground, in the bottom left corner is the head and upper body of a bald man who’s crying. He’s Black and staring directly at the viewer. In the center, stand three men of varying ages, in uniforms with horizontal black and white stripes. Their ankles are shackled. Two of the men are holding rakes. They’re Black and staring at the viewer too. In the background are three thin, barren trees and a sullen, gray-blue sky with patches of purples. The ground is mostly orange dirt with a bit sprouting grass.
Kevin Cooper, Taps, acrylic on canvas board.

“This country is killing oppressed people in so many different ways, whether by police brutality, mass incarceration, lack of or poor health care, food deserts, preventable diseases, that angel is playing taps for all the oppressed lives lost around the country including ours here on death row.”