Shackles

 Shaterika Samuels 

Ms. Harris 

African American Literature 

Nov 14, 2022

Shackles 

Shackles are inspired by the historical novel, Homegoing. Homegoing explores the life of two sisters who were separated at birth and the lives of their descendants. What stood out most to me in this novel was the generational trauma that was passed down from each family member, causing them to never actually be free from what burdened them, and this is what influenced me to create this visual. Shackles is my representation of generational trauma in African Americans caused by slavery. It displays how Black people have and always will be shackled because of the color of their skin, even in present-day America. It is a drawing of three African American hands, each holding a chain being passed down from one hand to another. I started by coloring each hand a different shade, starting with deep brown, transitioning to light brown,  and ending in yellow. Initially, each hand represents a different generation. The transition of colors between each hand displays the many different shades African Americans come in and that we are not just subject to one skin tone. I intentionally went from a darker brown to a lighter shade to highlight how during slavery, African women were raped by their masters resulting in light-skinned children. The chain represents the trauma and bondage that is continually being passed along. I also incorporated a purple bracelet, and this idea was inspired by the black stone in Homegoing. I wanted to add something that represented unity between each generation, so the bracelet is also passed along. This shows that although the traumatic experiences are passed through it all, they still have one another. I decided to make the bracelet purple because purple symbolizes royalty, transformation, and strength. 

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