It’s almost time to close out Black History Month. I know, I’m sad too. But the folks at Crown Publishing are ending things on a high note and leaving us with something that is sure to put a smile on your face. They invited three talented Black artists to create pieces for their Instagram feeds inspired by former First Lady Michelle Obama’s latest book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.”
In the book, our Forever First Lady shares practical wisdom for staying hopeful in an uncertain world. Drawing on her own experience as a wife, mother and the first Black First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Obama gives us the keys to keep it all together when things around us seem to be falling apart. “When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” she writes.
For Crown’s initiative designed to amplify Black artists and their work, they gave the artists, Estherr (@4everestherr,) Melarie Odelusi @melarieodelusi and Eeni @eeni_edit, the task of creating work inspired by themes in “The Light We Carry” that resonated with them. And the results were stunning.
The idea was inspired by artwork Eeni created for Mrs. Obama’s memoir, “Becoming.” “Using Eeni’s art as our starting point, Crown (publisher of The Light We Carry) looked across the web for Black designers whose art we found inspiring. That search quickly brought us to Melarie and Estherr, who said they’d love to collaborate in this way,” a spokesperson for Crown Publishing told The Root.
The artists’ work even caught the attention of Mrs. Obama herself, who shared the work with her followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter followers with a caption that read, “For #BlackHistoryMonth, I wanted to share the work of three talented artists – @4everestherr, @melarieodelusi, @eeni_edit – who shared the art they made after reading #TheLightWeCarry. I love these!”