This painting was made in response towards the Arts Education being inaccessible in my youth because of funding. I wanted to pursue the arts in my hometown of Boston, Dorchester but I was not offered that opportunity through the public education system. Prominent historical figure Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Civil rights movement leader. Dr. King proved that the structure in power rarely funded the tools meant to dismantle them. The arts were never a core subject growing up. I view the materiality of the paint medium and the canvas not as an embellishment of my education but a necessary extension of my potential. My creative practice operates within this restrictiveness by a way of embodying Dr King as an artist and activist. Beyond a fashion statement, he wears black baret which is commonly a traditional headwear for artists to signify creative identity. The black beret was also a staple wear in the Black Panther Party in response to the injustices experienced by Black-Americans in the 1960s. As these two identities of being an artist and Black are the core aspect of this painting the experience of a young black adult navigating the artistic space was daunting yet liberating.