David Campos – to prune those kids

Posted byAngela Chaidez VincentPosted inDavid Campos
On a large canvas is a photograph of migrant kids at a makeshift school made out of tents. In the center of the photograph is the phrase “to prune those kids” Out from that center box are 8 lines. Four lines move toward the top to four boxes aligned across the top and four lines move downward to four boxes aligned across the bottom. They indicate paths for reading. The top reads as follows: bus them away from their home school | take them to a strange place and say it’s safe | remove the dandelions bleeding through the cracks in the asphalt | explain how the drying grass of their school will spread to their feet The center reads: to prune those kids The bottom reads as follows: of their imagination | in the name (of) integration | and muffle their voices in the deep part of the cave next to your good intentions | and remember that blossoms cannot be undone

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Artist’s Statement: In the article “The Resegregation of Jefferson County,” Nikole Hannah-Jones writes that “since 2000, at least 71 communities across the country, most of them white and wealthy, have sought to break away from their public-school districts to form smaller, more exclusive ones.” This led to research into my state’s segregation and integration efforts. The rhetoric, the maps, and the data were all there—coded language, school boundaries, and even diversity statements covered the stagnant “struggle” toward integration. As an educator, this project provided context for my experience and those of the students in the classroom. Notes and citations will appear at the end of the project. 

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