“Evidence comes from a slave society, before the rise of the abolitionist movement. 

More came from Captain Hugh Crow, who made ten slaving voyages and wrote
from personal observation that sharks have been known to follow vessels across the ocean, 
that they might devour the bodies of the dead when thrown overboard.”

The bodies of tens of thousands of injured, dead or rebellious African Slaves were tossed overboard

into the vastness of the ocean only to meet an inhumane and gruesome fate.

​

This shark represents the atrocities that befell millions of African Slaves as they were violently ripped from the motherland and brought to the Americas over hundreds of years.

The dates in the body of the shark refer to pivotal dates in the history of the Slave trade and the plight of Black Americans since. 

The dates are worthy of your personal research.

This painting, entitled “400” was painted and completed in August of 2019. It is a critical component in a series of paintings called “The Journey.” It commemorates the 400th year of the abolishment of slavery and the continued struggle of Black Americans across the country.