Ariel Baez

America, God Bless You if it's Good to You

America, God Bless You if it's Good to You examines ways that law enforcement in the United States commit violence on Black and Brown bodies. The installation mediates the subjects through actual footage, police-radio recordings, and first-hand experience. The sculptural elements are related to the videos and highlight descriptive words such as "suspicious" and "threatening," often used by law enforcement. It is theorized that these words are scapegoats that protect police as they continue to openly murder with impunity. The names listed throughout the installation honor those people murdered by law enforcement. It is as James Arthur Baldwin once said, "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all of the time." The title of this thesis causes one to put into question how certain groups of people in America are protected, while others continuously suffer even when progress is made. The title is a lyric from XXX by Kendrick Lamar and U2.