A Reflection on Misconception by Faith J. McKinnie, Curator

As a curator & consultant for the visual arts, I am always using my eyes to look outward. A gaze

that remains fixed to an object outside of myself. This reflection piece permitted me to close my

eyes, which led to a moment of personal reflection on misconception.

“Look, my skin Black...” is the first thing Oke Junior declares in his 2:10 track Misconception.

“...my hair dreaded, got tattoos, they're gonna judge me by my looks before my attitude…”

As a dark skinned Black woman with natural hair and tattoos, I immediately recall several of my

own personal moments in those few seconds of his track. Oke shares an experience similar to

many Black men and women living in America, he reminds the white listener that Black people

are judged by the color of our skin, not the content of our character. “...race was a factor, it was

a setup to destroy my character.”

Misconception is Oke’s rhythmic narrative, a reflection that addresses the anger, revenge, and

resentment that Black people feel when they lose their jobs (and lives!) to the misconceptions of

white people. He also shares his moment of resiliency. A characteristic that most Black people

possess in order to survive a lifetime of racism hell-bent on destroying them. Using creativity

and expression as tools to defeat racism and white supremacy by creating music that requires

personal reflection is executed beautifully by Oke, and is situated beautifully alongside the other

exhibited works presented in the Un/Equal Freedoms: Expressions for Social Justice.