The Rose (Conway Twitty) , 2018, 9” x 24,” bark, hair extensions.

I lived on a reservation in North Carolina as a toddler. All of the radio stations played country music. Naturally I named my first Cabbage Patch Doll, Merle Haggard. I was the only black girl on the reservation. My mom's partner's daughter Angie was older than me and fell for me right away. She treated me with so much love and as her baby sister right away. I was very little but I remember her kindness. I wasn't allowed on the church bus, Angie carried me in her arms and they told her "that little nigger isn't allowed on here." I was way too young to understand but I do know that Angie gently put me down and told me to stay put. She calmly climbed back onto the bus and punched the person in the face that said I wasn't allowed on the bus. She got off the bus and yelled back "and we ain't coming back neither."