Viral Hope

Viral Hope


How digital painter Nikkolas Smith turns grief into art and activism.

I’ll never forget driving by the teddy bear.

It was two miles from where I lived. Where Trayvon Martin was last alive, walking with Skittles from the Sanford, FL 7-11 I got that bottle of water from that one time.

There were piles of flowers and cards, near the grass his shoes last touched, still growing.

There were piles of stuffed animals too. Reminders that this was just a kid.

A kid.

He should have been in school today. He should have been unfurling a day-old Skittles bag to finish whatever colors were left.

I kept driving, but I did not know where to go from here.

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7 lessons from the artist who gave me permission to dream

7 lessons from the artist who gave me permission to dream

What did you like to do when you were a kid?

I've been thinking about that question a lot lately.

I put snails in a jar.

I wrote plays.

I acted in my own plays and one-woman shows. (Thank goodness YouTube did not exist then).

I memorized and performed scenes from The Little Mermaid.

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