David Campos – failure to stop


failure to stop 

On a white background are graphics in black ink composed of periods of differing size. Small periods create dotted lines across the background. On top of those, different-sized periods in different opacity levels highlight the white text in each LARGE period. 

There are 7 large periods with text. The first contains the title “failure to stop.” 
The following is each “Period” with a text. There is no punctuation in these. 

i failed every english class in high school saying that my sentences kept running and my commas were told too often i thought of forrest gump breaking out of those leg braces i thought of the soccer practices i went to as a youth playing for rec teams and competitive teams 

and feeling my lungs yelling at me that they couldn’t take it any more i thought of the way I spoke back to all of my teachers never really accepting their authority what did they know about dreams they ended here with me stuck with me 

what is a period but an ending a forced ending a detention am i being detained or am i free to go what is a comma but a pause a hiccup a slow down a get your act together a stop racing everywhere stop stop

think before you act before you act like you will that’s not necessarily the way we expect you to act don’t talk back young man i’m here to help you succeed don’t you see that do you see 

that your future depends on your control of the sentence i loved reading still i loved writing still but they didn’t like my cuts and dribbles

my saggin pants my combs back and slick hair they said speak english right write english right now i’m all about write english write write write until my legs cramp up and all the breath is out of my fingers

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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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