Unlike the other drawings in this series, this was inspired by this image from the New York Public Library’s digital collections. To the left of the figure in the coffin, I’ve created a cutaway image of the layers of soil beneath the headstone where he will be buried.
Ajuan Mance
The background of this image from the What Do Brothas Do All Day ‘zine is a page from the toy section of the 1927 Sears catalog.
Ajuan Mance
This image from the What Do Brothas Do All Day ‘zine includes an excerpt from “Little Brown Baby,” a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. I’ve reprinted the text of the excerpt below.
Ajuan Mance
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—From “Little Brown Baby” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, in Poems of Cabin and Field (1895)
This image from What Do Brothas Do All Day includes lyrics from “Prayer,” on the album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, by the rapper DMX.
Ajuan Mance
Here’s another image from my What Do Brothas Do All Day ‘zine. The sun and the flower/star shapes in the background are versions of Ananse Ntontan, the spider’s web. This West African Adinkra symbolizes wisdom and the complicated nature of life.
Ajuan Mance
This is the first of a series of drawings I’ve put together in a ‘zine called What Do Brothas Do All Day. The title is a reference to a book by children’s author and illustrator Richard Scarry. His 1968 picture book, What Do People Do All Day, was an introduction to the grown-up world of work and chores and errands. The activities Scarry depicts in his book are really little more than the mundane stuff of everyday life; but to children, this view into the activities, occupations, and locations that shape the daily lives of adults is an absolute revelation! As a child, I was absolutely fascinated by Scarry’s vision of daily life. And just as Scarry’s book responds to the curiosity of children, my ‘zine responds to many grown-ups’ curiosity about the attitudes, activities, minds, and bodies of men of African descent. It’s a curiosity that sometimes looks more like obsession. The next several drawings are taken from the What Do Brothas Do All Day ‘zine. If you’d like a copy of the whole book, you can order one on Etsy or you can drop by my table at Art Murmur Oakland (12/6/2013 at Uptown Body and Fender) or the East Bay Alternative Book and Zinefest (12/7/2013).
Ajuan Mance
Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, California.
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If you can’t afford a fancy paint job or racing tires and chrome rims, then you can rely on your body language to give the car a little extra style. The way you and your friends sit in the car, the way you position your seat, and the configuration of limbs you drape outside of your window can say almost as much as if you were driving around on a set of Yokohama tires. I haven’t even mentioned that large, loud speakers can elevate the coolness level of even the oldest, dirtiest, rustiest hooptie. You don’t need a new or customized vehicle if your car stereo has some seriously window-rattling bass.
And now, a poetic homage to the hooptie:
My hooptie rollin’, tailpipe draggin’
Heat don’t work an’ my girl keeps naggin’
Six-nine Buick, deuce keeps rollin’
One hubcap cause three got stolen
Bumper shook loose, chrome keeps scrapin’
Mis-matched tires, and my white walls flakin’
Hit mickey-d’s, Maharaji starts to bug
He ate a quarter-pounder, threw the pickles on my rug
Runnin’, movin’ tabs expired
Girlies tryin’ to dis ‘n say my car looks tired
Hit my brakes, out slid skittles
Tinted back window with a bubble in the middle
Who’s car is it? Posse won’t say
We all play it off when you look our way
Rollin’ four deep, tires smoke up the block
Gotta roll this bucket, cause my Benz is in the shop
–Sir Mix-A-Alot in “My Hooptie”
Ajuan Mance
Snack Tables, Alternative Press Expo, October 12-13, San Francisco, California.
Ajuan Mance
A friend of my who is also an Oakland homeowner was kind enough to hold two sessions of CORE training. CORE stands for Communities of Oakland Respond to Emergencies, and it’s a free training program designed to prepare city residents to be effective emergency responders.
The man in this drawing was one of the other attendees at the session. I liked the way he sat quietly, taking it all in. His calm and calming presence was a welcome contrast to the very serious topics on the agenda.
Ajuan Mance
Starbucks, Webster Ave, Alameda, California.
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“Humor is laughing at what you haven’t got when you ought to have it.”
–Langston Hughes, “A Note on Humor,” 1966
Ajuan Mance