36×48 inches

In this painting, I sought to bring attention to the ongoing, senseless violence that has plagued our city for far too long. At its center is a young boy kneeling under a lone streetlight in downtown Birmingham, his small frame illuminated as he prays for peace. Bullet casings cascade beside him, while the graffiti-covered wall behind tells a darker story—riddled with bullet holes.

On the wall, a freshly painted message, “Stop The Violence,” begins to bleed in the rain, the red paint slowly dissolving as it mingles with the blood-stained sidewalk below. The sidewalk itself is half-covered by a newspaper reporting yet another mass shooting in the city. Another piece of graffiti reads “black on black crime,” though it has been smeared and is barely legible now, a painful reminder of the harsh realities the city has faced.

Amidst this chaos, the boy remains calm in prayer, unwavering in his belief that prayer is the most powerful answer to the turmoil that surrounds him. He is a symbol of hope and resilience, standing strong in his faith that change can come, even in the face of such overwhelming violence.