My project, Slaves to Masters, is inspired by the iconic and tragic image “Runaway Slave Gordon.” My new body of work references how this horrific history still affects us today, while also celebrating strength, persistence, and power in African American culture. Despite the weight placed on our shoulders because of the color of our skin, Slaves to Masters not only references this history, but it also presents a modernized way of showing and celebrating the strength of the African-American people. I am using the back of the African- American as a canvas to tell a story similar to the “Runaway Slave Gordon.” Even though African-Americans today aren’t physically being tied up and whipped, we cannot act as if discrimination against the African-American people does not exist. The only differences are that today we are stronger, in control of ourselves, and we are can be the masters of our fate.