ÒIf youÕre the head of an empire and see that an unarmed youth is gunned down in cold blood by the police and your
advice is for people to be calm,Ó writes Dread Scott in his essay on the killing of Michael Brown, Òyour rule is illegitimate.Ó Taking his name from Dred Scott, the slave who unsuccessfully sued the government in a St. Louis court, the artist and activist salutes protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, while decrying those who aim to control them through force.
This pamphlet is published by the Walker Art Center as part of its online Artist Op-Eds series, an ongoing project inviting artists in all disciplines to respond through writing to events in the news. See more at wac.mn/artist-opeds