Public Enemy Care for Youth (The Brutality Which Is America)

One Book One Northwestern, 2020–21

This artwork was selected in response to themes in Northwestern’s community-wide reading of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014) by Bryan Stevenson.

This striking triptych presents text that is bold and direct in its formal presentation, but invites open interpretation. The first phrase "The Brutality Which Is America," names brutality as the country’s defining characteristic, a stark contrast to other stock phrases typically used to define America, such as "the land of opportunity." From there, we learn more about the country’s particular brand of brutality: the phrases "Raises Mad Dogs / That Were Once Beautiful Children" create a powerful image of violence against unnamed innocents without pinning it down to one particular act.

Edgar Heap of Birds is an Indigenous artist whose work addresses the experiences of Native communities in the United States and confronts the history of violence against them. The artwork’s enigmatic text offers the space to contemplate what has been willingly overlooked in the writing of American history, and to consider what has been lost in any number of atrocities committed in America’s name. In the context of Just Mercy, the juxtaposition of brutality and innocence throughout this artwork calls to mind Bryan Stevenson’s stories of how the promise of youth can go unfulfilled when the criminal justice system goes unchecked. In chapter 8, "All God’s Children," Stevenson relays stories of youth whose circumstances—untreated mental health issues, inability to escape neighborhood violence, or simply the color of their skin—have led to extreme sentencing.