Won't You Be My Neighbor
This piece might be the one that is closest to my heart. It started with a question Fred Rogers asked every day: Won't you be my neighbor? It's a simple invitation, but underneath it is the belief that everyone belongs, exactly as they are, and that a neighborhood is only as beautiful as the range of people living in it.
I painted this as a place where every house is different — different colors, shapes, sizes and stories — and none of them is trying to look like the one next door. Diversity isn't something to tolerate; it's what makes a neighborhood worth living in. Racism asks people to shrink or disappear. This painting is the opposite of that ask — every color gets to stay loud.
If Mister Rogers taught a whole generation anything, it's that kindness is not naive, and that asking "Won't you be my neighbor" is actually one of the most radical questions there is.
"Won't You Be My Neighbor?" - Mister Fred Rogers. Partial lyrics can be found within the art.
Mixed Media
Measures 48" x 48"