MOSAIC TEMPLARS
CULTURAL CENTER NAMES
CC MERCER WATSON
ARTIST ARTISTOFOFTHETHEYEAR YEAR
CC CCMERCERMERCERWATSON WATSON
BLACKSTAR
Ghanaian Flag Q u ilt, 2022, Photo
Credit: Joshua Asante
It is an incredible honor to be named Artist of the Year by the historic Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the Taste of Black Little Rock event on March 13th.
Met with roaring applause, I accepted the title on stage while unveiling commission pieces, a diptych called A MIGHTY LONG WAY: SUN and MOON. Along with Mosaic Templars Curator, Courtney Bradford, we flipped back the black draping to revealing two Black bodies, buoyed by the current of the Middle Passage, from the African coast to the Americas. As a people we have endured, survived, and made a way out of no way. I was proud to share that work on the heels the exhibition opening for IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS. March 27th is my late father’s birthday, the one and only Attorney Christopher C. Mercer, Jr. It is also the transition date of my best friend’s mother, Thelma Douglas. Na’Toscha and I have been without them since our 20's and the opening date is significant to honor their legacy. In this volume of THE NINETEENTH, I will be sharing a poem for the new pieces and thanking the sponsors for the exhibit. The work will live at Mosaic Templars from March 27, 2025 - August 16, 2025. Make plans to see this phenomenal show!
MARCH27TH20 MOSAIC TEMPLARS
AMIGHTYLONGWAY
We’ve come a mighty long way, Yemaya’s children form a quilt on the ocean floor, Bodies turned to bone, Our blood danced in between, The razor sharp teeth of great white sharks, Our cries and moans would serenade sunny blue skies, And moonlit starry nights, The constellations would sparkle on our tears, Further and further, We never returned, Our bellies rumble and churn, While the ocean crashes against the bowels of ship, To collect insurance, They made us walk the plank, We became seasoned with a salted Atlantic brine, As we sink to the trenches, In chains, Linked throughout time, They tore us from our mothers, our fathers, The mountainous hills, Mango groves, Plantain trees, We traveled from one side o Commodified, And demonized, Black was a denigration, Yet and still, They made us build a nation, Cook their food, Bend to their desires, And when we didn’t, Our bodies they set on fire,
Again, Bodies turned to bone, We’ve come a mighty long way, A chosen people, From coast to coast, A ship, And bullhorns, Leather and berets, We’ve come a mighty long way, Bus rides to freedom, Marching on feet, too, We’ve come a mighty long way, Jazz, Tap, Rap, Stacks, We’ve come a mighty long way, Yemaya’s children form a quilt across the open plains, Our cries and moans became redemption songs, Our very existence became a pipeline of resistance, Sacred vapor, We commune with our Ancestors, Higher powers, Their names number the stars, We can look back, Look forward, Look far, Further and further, A Sankofa return, We’ve come a mighty long way
bearing, oral tradition, and ancestral craft. As the ED and Found(HER) of this organization, and an artist myself, it is my personal mission to use my craft to see the work of A BLACK SPACE through. Please consider donating, by clicking or scanning the QR code below, to support our newsletter, programs, and emerging community outreach to lend our support where needed. Also, if you ’ re looking to expand your art collection, consider buying some of my fine art prints HERE. Available at M2 Gallery, located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Want more to see more of IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS? Be sure to come to the exhibition opening on March 27th, my late father, Attorney Christopher C. Mercer, and open to the public, and w Templars Cultural Center. 501 W AR.
Poetry + Layout: CC Mercer Watson
