Bobby Blue
The urge to end police brutality against BIPOC and protests within the city of Long Beach motivated me to make this visual response. A response addressing the economic and social disparities in Long Beach paralleling police funding. The mural and illustrations are inspired by the city's budget on public safety, my experiences living in Long Beach, and recent observations during the county-wide curfew. They are an institution-focused critique of the socio economic disparities in this city and how many communities are underserved while others thrive. The recent installment of barricades around town due to the ‘May 31st curfew’ made these invisible socioeconomic barriers visible. It brought up the question of who is in and who is out? Who has access to public services and who doesn't? These barricades just reinforced what many already observe and feel: that we live in a diverse but inequitable city. "Bobby Blue" is dedicated to the mayor as a visual call for help. Mayor Garcia has the opportunity to use his position as our top elected leader to reassess what public safety means. To take his ideas, words, position in the community, and put them into action. To focus on the idea that public safety can be extended to decrease the suffering of people by allocating resources to communities in need, extending library hours, extending hours for community centers, providing more park staff, increasing support for education programing, increasing funding to cultural programs, and increasing the budget for mental health and medical health services.
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