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AMEYA MARIE

Alex Oyambe Gradin

Alex Oyombe Gradin was fatally shot early Saturday morning just outside the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR. He was 21 years old and a student at Lane Community College.

Gradin graduated from Tigard High School in 2016 and aspired to play college football.

The shooting happened at 1:44 a.m. A student living at a fraternity house next door heard the gunshots and rushed out to find Gradin bleeding from a gunshot wound in the chest.

It's was 4am the day after his death when I finished this piece to honor his life.

My sister graduated HS in 2016 and is 21 years old. I'm grew up in Portland. I've been to Tigard HS. Most of my friends are current students at UoO and Lane. This is gun violence in Oregon. This is happening right now. It's LITERALLY next door.

His family provided this statement via Eugene police:

“We appreciate the outpouring of love and concern we have received in the tragic death of our son, Alex. He was an unexpected blessing to our lives when he joined us as a baby in Kenya and grew to be a compassionate, thoughtful young man. He naturally made many friends all over the world, who are grieving right now. We request at this time that you allow us to heal and support each other as a family.”

On March 31, 2019, Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot outside Marathon Clothing in South LA. He was 33-years-old and raised in Crenshaw. He was an amazing community activist, rapper, entrepreneur, brother, husband, and father.

I hadn’t listened to much of Nipsey’s music before his death but his loss has got me thinking a lot recently about life and legacy. We all have a greater purpose and passion. We gotta do more and create more for each other. This piece was created in large part to accompany a poetry anthology written by a group of middle schoolers who wrote using words from his songs. Rest in power Nipsey. Your words are still inspiring.

These pieces of David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez are part of a poster series I created for March for Our Lives to honor the victims of the mass shooting on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed and seventeen more were wounded. Many victims were students, my age.

As a teenager, a student, a human, and an American - I am hurt and I am angry. Just a month before the shooting, I was in Miami for National YoungArts week, where I was welcomed with open arms into a chosen family of Miami teenage artists and creative mentors. Everyone has been impacted. No matter how vast our world may feel, we connect through art.

Please download this and share it. Print however many you want. Create posters, placards, and tributes.

Parkland, I see you. And I call BS.

These pieces of David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez are part of a poster series I created for March for Our Lives to honor the victims of the mass shooting on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed and seventeen more were wounded. Many victims were students, my age.

As a teenager, a student, a human, and an American - I am hurt and I am angry. Just a month before the shooting, I was in Miami for National YoungArts week, where I was welcomed with open arms into a chosen family of Miami teenage artists and creative mentors. Everyone has been impacted. No matter how vast our world may feel, we connect through art.

Please download this and share it. Print however many you want. Create posters, placards, and tributes.

Parkland, I see you. And I call BS.

Black Life: Jamar Clark (2017)

On November 15, 2015, Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man, was shot by Minneapolis Police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two police officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, were involved in the shooting and were subsequently placed on paid administrative leave. They did not receive any disciplinary action for the shooting

The night after the shooting, Clark died at the Hennepin County Medical Center after being taken off life support.

Black Life: Michael Brown (2015)

This piece was created to honor the life of Michael Brown. Michael was 18 years old when he was shot and killed by a police officer on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. Michael was unarmed, college-bound, and had no criminal record.

In the days following the shooting, unrest ensued across Ferguson. Brown's killing and the subsequent events in the city became a national controversy touching on much larger national issues of race, justice, and police violence.

Black Life: Eric Garner (2016)

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York City, after a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer put him in a headlock for about 15 to 19 seconds while arresting him. NYPD policy prohibits the use of chokeholds.

The event stirred public protests and rallies, with charges of police brutality made by protesters. By December 28, 2014, at least 50 demonstrations had been held nationwide specifically for Garner while hundreds of demonstrations against general police brutality counted Garner as a focal point. On July 13, 2015, an out-of-court settlement was announced in which the City of New York would pay the Garner family $5.9 million.