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Painter aims to capture superhero powers of the N-Word

Our conversation with Peter Williams and Ryan Standfest

This painting is titled "The Adventures..." It's painted with oil paints on canvas by Peter Williams.
Credit Peter Williams
This painting is titled "The Adventures..." It's painted with oil paints on canvas by Peter Williams.

The "N-word" probably gets you thinking about the racial epithet that's been used for centuries like a club against black people. Renowned painter Peter Williams has turnedthatversion upside-down and inside-out.

He's created an African-American superhero: N-Word.

N-Word redirects the power of that charged word toward those who take part in systematic acts of hate and oppression. N-Word was born as Williams created a series of paintings in response to police-related killings of black people. They'll be the centerpiece of an upcoming book published by Detroit's Rotland Press.

Listen to the full interview above with Williams and Ryan Standfest, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Rotland Press. They talk about the origin of N-Word, the role this superhero can play in the national dialogue about race and the effort to get the book published

GUESTS

Peter Williams is an artist and creator of the superhero N-Word.

Ryan Standfest is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Rotland Press.

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Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

This painting is titled, "Night Clubbing in New York". It's painted by Peter Williams with oil on canvas.
Peter Williams /
This painting is titled, "Night Clubbing in New York". It's painted by Peter Williams with oil on canvas.

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