‘Door 2’ by Fred Hampton which was exhibited at the Soul of a Nation exhibition really struck a chord with me and is something that will stay with me forever.

the contrasting red and green door, riddled with bullets almost drew me to tears. Without saying anything it said everything. The colours were so bold to this day and draw the audience in, and the bullet holes really brought to life the reality of life for African Americans and the fear that they must have felt at the time.

At the top of the door ‘US approved’ had been written in paint with 3 stars. The colours used were red, white and blue which mimicked the US flag. This was almost a sarcastic comment from the artist, saying that America is not only accepting the death of innocent African Americans but that they also won’t change or do anything about it. Innocent people are being murdered by gangs and police and because of the colour of their skin nothing is done about it.

The thing that really made me emotional is that the door still has the same meaning today and nothing has changed. To this day innocent African Americans are being murdered by gangs and the police, yet the government isn’t doing anything. The fact that this is still happening is awful. ‘Door 2’ by Fred Hampton should’ve memorialised a time in history that was so barbaric we couldn’t imagine it happening today, but instead it stands as a reminder that this is still happening every day and nothing has changed at all really.