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Chaka Mkali

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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Chaka Mkali, Its So Real , 1993

Chaka Mkali

Its So Real , 1993
Pen and marker on paper
10 1/2 x 14 inches
CM00033
Part of the As the Sun Sets, We Rise illustration series published in Colors Magazine (1993), this drawing features a direct tribute to Tycel Nelson, a 17-year-old Black teenager killed...
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Part of the As the Sun Sets, We Rise illustration series published in Colors Magazine (1993), this drawing features a direct tribute to Tycel Nelson, a 17-year-old Black teenager killed by Minneapolis Police Officer Dan Wells on December 1, 1990. At the center of the composition, Mkali inscribes “RIP TYCEL” on the ledge of a building — embedding memory and protest into the architectural fabric of the image. The drawing exemplifies the artist’s early use of visual storytelling to confront state violence and honor community memory. It stands as a deeply personal and political expression within the larger arc of Mkali’s commitment to cultural and social justice through art.
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