Arrest on Jackson Square - Drawing on Arches Paper
On the following day after being arrested for performing on Jackson Square in New Orleans, the artist returned to the plaza and, as a protest, created a drawing of his arrest. He later sued the New Orleans Police Department for illegally arresting him and won.

Standing on a Paper Constitution

I feel the pain of my ancestors crawling on my skin
like an army of ants out for revenge.

I hear the ghosts of mestizo and mulatto slaves negotiating their release
through a wall of ivory history books
fat with the absence of their shadows.

I want the liberties promised when the ink dried
because I am standing on a paper constitution
buckling with the weight of the dark one.

 

New Orleans